Twilight Runway
by oreo121105
Summary: Bella thought she had her whole life figured out untill she met Edward. Bella is Edwards and jacabs manager for there modling. With Alices creepy feelings what will happen with her love life and job? AH
1. Beginner Model

_**Bella Swan.**_

"But Sir!" I argued, "I already have one too many models under my wing! There's no way I can manage another one without neglecting the ones I already have!"

Mr. Hale, the president of Twilight Runway, continued to smile at me, and I frowned. This old man had no intention of accepting my request.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said, "But this is an important break for the company. Cullen-McCarthy enterprise is an extremely well-rounded and prestigious company. The president _personally_ came to me and asked that his son receive management from our most prominent manager… and that is definitely you!"

I scowled. If he thought that flattery would win me over, then he was terribly mistaken.

"And what of my current models?" I asked, skeptically.

He stared at me for a bit longer, and then reasoned, "We can transfer two of your models to one of our other managers," when I raised my eye brows in disbelief, he continued, "Of course, you are free to keep Jacob Black. I don't think you have another choice, since I assume he would quit modeling if he were transferred to the care of someone else." I glared at him as he chuckled.

"You will have the privilege of deciding on which models you want to drop, of course. But that is really the most I can do."

After glowering at Mr. Hale for nearly a minute, I sighed in defeat. I knew I never had a chance of winning against him.

"That's great, Bella," he beamed, suddenly pulling a large yellow folder from his desk, "I knew I could count on you!"

I sighed again, and reached over to obtain the blue folder that he held behind his fingers. "I_f he wasn't my boss…"_ I thought bitterly, flipping open the dark cover. I flipped through its contents grudgingly, until I reached the section that I was most eager to see: His photo's.

"Oh!" I gasped, unintentionally, staring at the beautiful face and figure of the man in the pictures.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Mr. Hale exclaimed, obviously pleased by surprised reaction, "He's only a beginner…but I'm sure that you can bring out his talent and make him sell, somehow."

I almost nodded, until his words finally settled.

"B-beginner?" My mouth fell open, "Mr. Hale. This boy--"

"Edward Cullen" he interrupted.

I rolled my eyes.

"_Edward Cullen_…might have a beautiful face… but there's no way I can accept him as a beginner!" I loathed beginning models! They were full of themselves, conceited, egotistical… they were the worse of the modeling world! Complete name-less newbie's who believed they were Gods!

"But you managed Jacob Black," Mr. Hale rationalized, "And look how well he sold! He's been our number one model for the past two years!"

"Jacob is different," I inducted, "Jacob has personality! He was already a star, I just helped him along the way! That's more that I can say for the majority of these no-good models!"

"Don't worry about it. I know you have what it takes…I believe in you!"

I stared open-mouthed at his words. Was he serious?

"You're the best manager here," he continued with the praises, "I can't count on anyone but you to handle the job. We'll even make a deal!"

I started at him incredulously for a moment, and let my curiosity ask the next question, "What deal?"

He smiled at my sudden interest, "You'll handle Edward Cullen for three months. If he is completely unmanageable, and all your efforts to sell him are futile, then I will personally contact his father and tell him myself that even our best manager could not handle him. It will be out of your hands, and no fault will be placed on you."

I considered this bargain for a while. It wasn't such a bad idea, really. If he turned out to be a no-good brat who could not sell, I would be able to clean my hands of him in just three months. If he was-- by chance-- an adequate model… I would continue to manage him. This wasn't a bad idea at all.

"Alright, then, Mr. Hale. I accept your proposal to mange this…"

"Edward Cullen?"

"Right. Edward Cullen."

"That's great! I knew I could count on you, Bella! You've always been our star worker!"

I blushed at his compliment, and continued, "When will I be able to see him, then?"

"In an hour," Mr. Hale explained, ripping out a small, yellow note-paper from a pad and handed it to me, "He'll be waiting just outside your office."

I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand and sighed. I felt like a complete idiot. He had this planned all along.

Mr. Hale must have understood my frustration and laughed merrily.

Sighing, I bowed to him before leaving the room, and made my way to my office.

"_At least the boy is gorgeous," I approved, opening the folder and taking another look at his photos, "he might actually be able to sell well."_

When I turned the corner heading to my office, a figure seated in a chair in front of my door made me stop in my tracks. "_Must be Cullen."_

I resumed my pace and walked towards the guy who sat with one leg bent over the other. He was wearing light blue jeans and a tight, dark blue v-neck shirt. He wore black shoes and a gold watch on his wrist.

I eyed him carefully, from his bronze-brown hair that was loose in an untidy, but unbelievably sexy wear. Even his face was perfect! A sharp jaw line supported thin, pink lips, and though his eyes were closed shut, I was almost assured that they, too, would be beautiful.

"Edward Cullen?" I asked, as if I did not know from the pictures.

Edward was holding the Nano chromatic in the color silver. He was too absorbed with his I pod to have heard me. I grew annoyed.

"Edward Cullen!" I nearly snapped his name.

This time, his head turned to look at me. He didn't, however, remove his headphones. I waited. I was getting really inpatient with my new model. Why do I have to deal with beginner model behavior?

Rolling his eyes, he finally pulled the earphones from his ears, and then, with a cold and an obnoxious tone, snarled, "You're late, manager."

Something snapped inside my head, and I found myself restraining the urges to punch him right in his astonishingly beautiful face. '_How _dare_ he pick up such a tone with me! With such a beautiful and musical voice, no doubt!' _It took everything I had to suppress my anger, and smile.

"Sorry about that," _Why was _I _apologizing? "_Please step into my office so we can discuss some things." The way he glared at me made me want to take his I-pod and…

Edward chuckled, as if he found something so completely amusing, and stood from his seat. Without even waiting for me to enter first-- something merely of chaste respect-- he opened the door and stepped inside, letting the door close behind him.

"Mother fuc--" I inhaled a deep breath, and released an even deeper one from my nose. _'Relax', _I ordered myself, '_You can handle _one_ little obnoxious brat. It's only three months. Let's just see how things go. It's your own fault for expecting anything otherwise.'_

I frowned at how accusing my own thoughts were, and took another deep breath before I put my hand on the door knob, pushing it open, and walked in.

_**Edward Cullen.**_

I was angry.

I never wanted to _be_ a model in the first place! It was all because of my father, Carlisle!

"Edward," he told me, "You have to do _something_ with your life! You finished high school, only to drop out of college just after two years! Don't you have any goals? Interests?"

"No," I told him, casually.

He sighed.

"Your poor mother worries about you everyday," I winced. That hit a nerve, "Esme doesn't know _what _to do. What _you_ want to do. It's torturing her, thinking that she hasn't been a good mother to you at all! She's completely blaming herself for the way you've been acting lately."

"How could she think that?" I snapped hastily at him, jumping to my feet in frustration, "Mom hasn't done anything wrong!" I admit that I did have a pretty bad personality, and even a quick temper, but for her to think that it was all due to the way she raised me? Even if she was not my real mother, I never considered her anything otherwise. I loved my mom, more than anything! The same applied to my father.

"But _she_ doesn't believe that," he corrected me, "It's the parents fault, after all, if the child does not grow up properly."

"I _am_ proper!"

"How so?" Carlisle argued sternly, "You get into fights, you dropped out of school, you spend your days at circuits and spend money like a king… just how are you proper?"

I stayed quiet and he sighed.

"Edward, we don't care _what _you do… as long as its safe and legal," he corrected himself quickly when he saw me smirk, "A bartender, an artist, a lawyer, a businessman, a teacher, an engineer… as long as its something that _you_ do and are passionate about. We just want you to be happy, or at least content! Isn't there any career choice or job that you are interested in? At least a little?"

When I saw the pleading in his eyes, I knew that I could not rebuff his appeals.

My mind suddenly recalled the conversation that me and my girlfriend of two years, Tanya, had a while ago. She had insisted that I become a model, saying that that occupation was perfect for me. Of course, I knew that she only wished to flaunt, and show me off some more.

_A model…How hard could it be? I already had the looks, my height wasn't bad either, almost reaching 6'2". I also had an amazing sense of style, or so I figured. How hard could walking and posing, all the while looking good, be? If anything, I should already be an expert in that department._

"How about modeling?" I asked my father curiously, deviantly. Like there was any way he would agree to such an undermining and selective job where you got paid for flaunting your body! That was almost as bad a stripper!

I was completely taken aback when Carlisle's eyes began to sparkle ardently, "Oh Edward," he cried, pulling me into a tight, one armed hug and then away, "That's perfect! I'm sure you would do a great job! And your mother would be so happy!"

"H-hold o--" I wasn't even able to tell him I was only kidding before Carlisle whipped out his cell-phone from his pocket, anxiously.

"Don't worry about anything," he assured me with a wink, "I'll make sure you get accepted to one of the best modeling agencies around! Ah, I can't wait to tell your mother! She is going to be so happy!"

Then Carlisle was gone before I could even voice my objections.

And that is how I came to be here, in a stupid modeling agency, applying to be a stupid model!

"Edward Cullen!" I heard a females voice snap from beside me, loud enough so that even my music could not ignore her.

"You're late, manager," I told her, my voice sharper than usual because of the annoyance that bubbled inside me.

She looked alarmed, and then her startled expression quickly changed to pure vexation and fury. I nearly died of laughter when I saw how hard she tried to pull a mask over her anger and smile. Her face looked so funny as it struggled to remain cheerful, that even an amusing smile could not suffice! She looked like she was in pain! A chuckle managed to escape despite my efforts.

I was forced to run into the room before I could explode when her voice began to shake from the strain of trying to sound welcoming.

I took a seat in a soft, purple chair that sat across from what I assumed was her desk, and smiled when she walked inside.

Though she wouldn't get any points from me for her acting ability, and nothing she could possibly do would make me enjoy modeling, she did gain my approval in the "figure and face" department. With long, dark hair and dark, almond shaped eyes… she had a cute, heart-shaped face and a very slender body. I couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was. Maybe this model stuff will pay off?


	2. Work with Cullen

_**Bella.**_

I woke up, regrettably, to the sound of my beeping alarm clock. I made an effort to ignore it, to tune out the high-pitched chirping, but it was to no avail. The sound was driving me mad. In an attempt to reach for it with my eyes closed, it fell from the impact of my impatient fingers, and fell to the floor with a light _thud._

I groaned.

Sitting up, I rubbed my heavy lids as I tried to clear my groggy head. Sunlight peaked through the slight openings of my dark curtains, illuminating my messy room slightly. Staring into the light so suddenly momentarily blinded me. I spent another five minutes in bed, rubbing my eyes sore.

"I have to go to work," I told myself, with a yawn. It was more of conviction that it was a reminder. My better judgment was already planning different reasons to remain in bed.

Yesterday had been a total disaster. Not only had the Cullen-boy been exactly as I'd expected-- rude and arrogant-- but he had also been bold enough to say, "You're pretty sexy, for a manager," interrupting me completely when I was in the middle of discussing his schedule. Even so, with the crude comments that he _so_ graciously complimented me with, I had still--somehow-- managed to keep calm. I disregarded his disdainful remarks, and kept everything professional… that is… until his verbal flirtations turned physical.

Just as I had finished explaining how everything was run in our company, and given him various documents to sign, the brainless idiot crossed the line! Before he had stepped out of my office, he leaned towards me as if he wanted to tell me something privately. What's more was that I was foolish enough to fall for it! It was almost as if I _allowed_ him to grab my ass!

I released the large, green pillow that I had been just been crushing, and flung it across the room in aggravation, knocking down almost half of the cosmetics I had neatly placed on the shelf just yesterday.

I sighed again.

'Disaster' was an utter understatement. 'Catastrophe' seemed much better suited for how yesterday went.

I felt like a total idiot, letting my dominating emotions get the better of me. Well, there was certainly no way that _Cullen--_ I sneered the name-- would ever return to Twilight Runway. Not after the way I clobbered him yesterday, anyways.

I groaned in annoyance. Even my own feelings were conflicted.

There was a part of me, the more domineering part, that was ecstatic to see the tactless bastard go. And then of course, there was the professional part of me, the modeling freak, that was almost pained to see such a beautiful guy leave the company.

Well, there was one thing I was definitely certain of; I did not envy whatever agency he would decide to transfer to, next. Much.

The morning went by in a hazy daze. I took a bath for what seemed like hours, got dressed-- something that literally took hours, and left home without time to eat breakfast. Even if I myself could never model, I had to at least dress the part. My career did revolve around the fashion world. I dressed stunningly everyday, my clothes usually bore the name of numerous brand names. Still, admittingly, of all the innumerable pieces of clothing and accessories that threatened to overflow in my closet and countless dressers, my most preferable choice of attire would be the sweatpants and large T-shirts that I wore to sleep.

I disliked standing out tremendously, and though I always felt out of place when I went to and from work, I at least blended in with the rest of my coworkers and models… to a certain extent.

The ride to work was quick, as usual, seeing as how I lived less than a mile from my company building. My car, a silver '08 Toyota Prius, made the trip even quicker. That was, of course, my everyday public item of transportation. There was another machine that I did have, that no one, aside a few selective people, knew I coveted; My beautiful motorcycle-- A Suzuki GSX-R 600. That would remain a secret from the fashion industry, of course. I couldn't allow one of my guilty pleasures to ruin the image that I have so desperately worked to gain. And In the modeling world, image was _everything._

After parking in my personal slot in the lot behind the company, I walked as slowly as I could to the front entrance. I stood before the large, transparent revolving doors, and braced myself. Taking in a ridiculously large breath, I walked inside and past the security guards, flashing my ID Card for less than a brief second, and headed towards the front desk.

"Morning, Bella," the receptionist, Angela, a woman who I had become good acquaintances with since I first joined the company, greeted me with a smile.

"G'morning, Angela," I returned her greeting with what I hoped was a warm smile, and asked, nervously, "Listen, did an extremely drop-dead-gorgeous guy come in this morning?" I couldn't refrain from biting my bottom lip.

She stared at me, obviously suppressing a smirk, and said, "Yes… there were quite a few of them, actually."

It took me a second for her words to make sense.

I was such an idiot. This was a modeling agency for chrissake!

"Well, never mind then," I chuckled foolishly.

When I turned around to head to my office, Angela suddenly said, "Now, if you are referring to a Mr. Cullen…" I whipped my head around quickly, and nearly ran to her. She looked startled, "Then he's been waiting for you for nearly--" she glanced at her watch "--30 minutes."

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Did he say _why_ he was waiting for me?" I asked her.

She nodded her head and continued, "He only said that he had an appointment with you."

I was shocked. It never occurred to me that he would still meet me at the time that I asked him to yesterday. Well, not after I hit him the way I did. I groaned. It probably wasn't good news.

"Thanks, Angela." I smiled weakly and once again made my way to my office.

As I turned the corner, and came less than 3 yards from the door, my feet slowed of its own accord. My pace decreased almost dramatically, as I tried to imagine what he could possibly want with me after yesterday. I was expecting to hear something from my boss, Mr. Hale, of course… but definitely not from Cullen himself.

The churning of my stomach increased ten-fold when I finally reached the door. Since he wasn't outside, he was definitely inside. Waiting for me. Probably with cold and ridiculing eyes, just like yesterday. There was also the possibility that he would try to exact his revenge for getting clobbered yesterday.

'_Let him try,'_ I almost laughed aloud this time, '_He'll get a first hand taste of the months I spent at self-defense classes'_

My grin faded, however, when I placed my hands over the doorknob.

'_Just relax, Bella. You wont know what he wants to say unless you actually talk to him.'_

Taking one final deep breath, I turned the knob with trembling fingers and pushed the door open.

Walking inside, I noticed a beautiful figure seated in the same soft, purple chair that he had been seated in yesterday. This time, he wore dark grey jeans and a very fashionable-- not to mention incredibly sexy-- tight green turtle neck with a very unique, woven design and black suede boots. His hands were pressed together, fingers interlocked, as he waited patiently with his elbows on his knees. Once again he was listening to his I pod.

I took a step further in the room, and closed the door sharply behind me. Realizing someone had walked in, he looked up at me, and our eyes locked.

I couldn't look away.

He stared up at me from under his eyelashes, and his hazel eyes-- mixed between a color of emerald green and honey brown-- bored into my own, causing me to hold my breath. It felt as if a wave of electricity ran through me. It shocked me internally, and I could feel the heat that was rising from to my face.

I wanted to pull away. I wanted to. But I couldn't.

It was his voice that broke the connection.

His lips curved into an almost-triumphant smirk, and he pulled the headphones from his ears.

"You're late _again_, manager." His voice was beautiful, but it was hidden behind deep sarcasm and an obnoxious tone. That snapped me back from whatever daydream land I just visited, and pulled me back into the real world.

I frowned at him, my eyes narrowed. I already punched him yesterday, what was the point of acting all nice now?

"What do you want, Cullen?" I asked coldly, as I turned away from his face to get seated at my desk.

My breath was caught in my throat at his coming reply.

"You," he said casually. Arrogantly.

And my heart skipped an involuntary beat.

I was certain. I hated this bastard.

_**Edward.**_

When she walked in, I couldn't help but smile.

After she nearly sent me flying yesterday, I had intended to quit the idea of modeling. That is, until my mother, Esme, nearly burst into tears with excitement when Carlisle informed her of my temporary career choice.

There was no way I could back out now.

Even so, I had decided to switch companies. I had never been hit before (unless it was during a fight, and even those times were minimal) and I had no intention of working with such an abusive manager. I had every motive to report her tempered butt to her boss. That was the initial plan, at least.

Before I had realized it, I was cracking up in my bed, imagining her angered face. She really was cute when she was mad. And so very interesting! I figured it would be fun, _entertaining_, to work with her. And it would be to my advantage as well. I needed some modeling acts, she would get them. If I needed some fun, she would handle that as well. I grew excited with the idea of teasing her. Of her furious expression when I would torment her.

So I let the fact that she hit me go.

I was, in no way, a masochist… but I decided that I could handle a few hits from her. It wasn't as if the one she had given me hurt _that_ badly. It stung, nonetheless, and I had to hold an ice pack over it for nearly half the night to soften the swelling. Of course, I wouldn't freely permit her to strike me again, either. Last time was a fluke; I was completely left unprepeared. The next time, and I was almost positive that there _would _be a next time, would be much more difficult for her.

Imagining the look on her face as she missed at an attempt to hit me made me laugh again. I might enjoy working here after all.

"What do you want, Cullen?" she nearly spat. It took much effort to hide my smile.

"You." I told her, as casually as I could. Really, it wasn't as if I meant it.

I wasn't expecting her next expression at all.

Her eyes opened wide, and her face suddenly burned a fevered scarlet.

My own breath was caught in my throat.

She held that expression for nearly a second, and then scowled. Her eyes were piercing, and you could see the burning anger that erupted within them.

I was right, after all. I would enjoy it here very much.


	3. Bella needs a date

_**Bella.**_

"Come in!" I yelled from my living room, flipping the channel on the television without even looking up.

It was Saturday morning, around 8:00 o'clock, and Alice had already called earlier to let me know that she would be coming over. Alice was always welcome in my apartment, of course, but I had to admit that I was somewhat reluctant about inviting her– – given the way she behaved last time I saw her.

I heard the door open up, and the locks start to turn, but never once removed my eyes from the screen before me. Was TV always this utterly mundane?

"Good morning, Bella." Alice's voice sang from the across the room.

I scowled at the casualness of her tone, not forgetting her decision to be talkative during dinner two nights ago. If she wanted to try and play innocent, she could act all she wanted. I knew that she knew that I would question her on her actions at dinner. Alice wasn't the blabber-mouthed type, so there had to be _some_ reason for her gossiping attitude before– – and I was going to find out about it.

"Whatcha watching?" Alice asked curiously, plopping herself on the empty sofa seat across from me. Without turning to look at her, I continued flipping through the channels half-heartedly, and blurted out, "Alice, why in Gods' name were you being so talkative at dinner?"

I didn't bother saying anything else, since I knew that Alice understood what I was implying. She was far too observant and smart _not_ to.

Though I had refrained from looking at her all that time, my head suddenly snapped in her direction as the sound of giggles erupted from her small frame.

"Why are you laughing?" I demanded, putting the Television on mute, and finally bringing my eyes to look at her.

I scowled at her meek, impervious expression.

"Are you sure you would like to know?" She inquired, biting back a large smile.

"Yes." I managed to say, without sarcastically retorting. And darn, did I want to!

"Fine then," Alice chirped. I watched impatiently as she slid her purse off her shoulder, along with her extremely flashy looking, yellow jacket, and tossed it onto the cushioned table in front of us. Turning her attention back to me, she started, "Your friend, Edward Cullen, gave me a _feeling_."

And at that, my mouth completely dropped open.

Cullen gave _Alice_ a feeling? I shook my head as if to cast away something so ludicrous, and managed to choke out, "But… what about Jasper?"

Alice appeared taken aback by my question, but laughed as soon as understanding crossed her face, "No, silly! Not like _that. _I had a _feeling_ in a whole different way."

Before I could stop myself, I let out a sigh of relief. In an instant, it felt as if the weight of the world, or at least half of it, had been taken off my shoulders. _Thank God… _

"Feeling relieved?" I heard Alice ask, but I was far too preoccupied with my own realization of what I both felt and thought? Relief? But why would I be relieved that Alice did not like Cullen.

Before my thoughts could get _too_ dangerous, I settled on the conclusion that it would have caused problems for me. Alice was my best friend, after all, and she was great when she wasn't being weird. Cullen, on the other hand, was my model, and a tactless, obnoxious one at that. It would have pained me to see Alice go after someone as much of a jerk as Cullen was.

_Not to mention that he already had a girlfriend…_

I scowled, as last nights idea made an attempt to invade my brain.

might be beautiful, but he really is a major pain in the ass."

Alice cocked her eyebrow at me, skeptically, and I almost gulped. Her expression seemed to be incredulous, and I was instantly nervous at whatever it was that she was implying.

"So, what kind of feeling did you get?" I asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject back from me to Cullen. Not that that subject was any better, of course.

Alice simply shrugged, and my eyes probed wide at her response, "I had a feeling that you guys were meant for each other, in the way that Jazz and I are."

And God, I wish I could have denied that my heart had secretly fluttered at her words, but it was not so– – my heart was in turmoil over her latest "prediction", and beating like mad.

This time I really gulped, and tried to argue, "What are you talking about, Alice? You know that _that_ wont happen." Of course it wouldn't happen. I couldn't stand Cullen. He was far too wishy-washy for my liking. One day he was a total jerk, making me want to knock him upside his head with the closest, hardest and– – when severely provoked– – sharpest thing I could find. While other days, like last night, he was more natural and fun to be around. Thinking about it now, he may suffer from multiple personality disorder….

Alice raised her eyebrows again, and challenged, "Bella, you know very well that my intuitive _feelings _are almost never wrong."

"Exactly, Alice! _Almost_ never wrong," I knew that I deserved the death glare she shot my way, but I wasn't going to budge. She was speaking nonsense! "But you are completely wrong, now. First off, Cullen drives me crazy. I wouldn't want to be with him even if he was the last person on the face of this Earth," Alice smiled a little at that, but I ignored her and continued, "and secondly; I have Jacob."

This immediately brought the smile off of Alice's face.

"Bella, I told you before, many times in fact, that Jacob isn't the one for you. Yes, he's nice– – but he just isn't the one. You know that what you have for Jacob is nothing more than attraction and some sort of empty obligation as the one who found him, forced him away from home, as pushed him past him limits."

I flinched at Alice's words, but immediately regained composure and snapped back coldly, "Alice, do _not_ define mine and Jacob's relationship to suit your silly whims. There is nothing false about these feelings; I care for Jacob a lot!"

Alice didn't even react to my harsh tone. Instead, she snorted, and said, "Exactly. How many years has it been, and yet all you feel for the boy is "_care"_? Not once in all these years have I ever heard you claim to love Jake."

Once again, I flinched at Alice's words. She was, after all, exactly right. But it wasn't because I didn't love Jake. I did love him… almost as much as I loved Alice. I loved Jake, and I was very much attracted to him– – which was self evident in itself that I loved Jacob in _that_ way as well. I just, for some reason, couldn't say it. Jake had always said it to me, but I always replied with somewhat cruel retorts such as "Mm", "Ditto", "Same here" or, my most famous one, "Right back at ya!". Well, after a while, or about a year to be meticulously exact, he eventually stopped saying it. I knew I loved Jake; that much was not a lie. I just couldn't say it aloud. I don't think I was _ready _to say it aloud.

"We're not even dating yet, Alice! I'm not going to go tell a guy I love him, when we aren't even in a relationship! It's irrational, it's impossible, it's against my religion!"

Alice scrutinized my face, probably searching for any traces of having lied, or at least stretched the truth, within my features– – then sighed from what I assumed was resignation. Of course I wouldn't be lying: Everything I said was true.

"Fine," Alice grumbled unhappily, hopping up from off the couch, "I'll let it go for now. However," she stared at me very intently, with such intense force that I wouldn't have been able to look away, even if I had tried, "I wont back down. I meant every word I said about this_ Edward Cullen_. I really feel that you two fit well with each other, and I trust my intuition completely."

Stopping at that, Alice's face returned to it's normal, bubbly shine, and she smiled broadly while picking up her purse and jacket from the table, "Now let's go. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be late for work."

I sighed, and let Alice pull me up from the sofa. We walked to the door, and I slid on my coat, before taking a quick glace at my reflection in the mirror next to the front door.

As Alice and I walked towards the street, we hugged goodbye before going our separate ways. Once in my car, I exhaled deeply, and clasped the seatbelt over my body. Alice had certainly given me too much info today. I couldn't get her assured words about Cullen and I fitting together out of my head. At the same time, I couldn't stop the guilty feeling that was clawing it's way inside of me when I thought of all the times that Jake had told me he loved me, and I rebuffed his declarations.

I did love Jake, I kept repeating in my thoughts and though it was still unknown to me, I just didn't feel like I should say those three little words to him. In all honesty, it just didn't feel right, and I figured that it was because we were not even dating.

Exhaling even more deeply, I stomped my foot on the gas pedal and pulled out of my parking spot, not providing much attention to the cars directly before and behind me.

I was still at a loss as to why Alice had even come over in the first place.

"We're going to be late!" I snapped at Cullen in a desperate attempt to motivate him into walking faster.

"Don't worry about it," he scoffed at my desperation, refusing to pick up the pace even a little, "we'll be fine."

My mouth dropped open, and I stole a quick glance at my watch which read Ten-thirty-five a.m.. We were still nearly five blocks away from the building where 'Spell' would be holding the photo shoot, and those blocks were not short at all.

"The shoot starts in thirty minutes!" I spat in his direction, ushering him with wavering hands to walk faster. Did he not realize that even if we so happened to make it on time, make-up, hair and getting dressed would take _at least_ an hour?

Cullen abruptly stopped walking, and I almost came crashing into his back.

"W-why'd you stop like that?" I growled, staggering backwards unsteadily.

Cullen slowly turned his head around to look at me, and winked. I felt my teeth gritting together as he casually said, "Don't worry. It'll be fine," all behind an irritating smirk as if he had any basis for his assurance. "_If we're late…."_ I had to shut my eyes tight so that I wouldn't attack Cullen right in the middle of the crowded street, and almost snapped when I opened them to see Cullen walking ahead of me.

_What nerve!_

I followed after him, infuriated to realize that he was still walking at the same speed, and mentally threatened Cullen to the damnest of hell. Wasn't it he who thanked me for giving him another chance? If he believed that I wouldn't fire him if he was late to his first job, then he was highly mistaken. In the back of my head, I was already imagining myself filling out his transfer forms.

The whole walk there, I was refraining from glancing down at my watch. I knew that if I did, I would just go crazy. Cullen couldn't take pictures with a black eye, after all.

Once we made it to the building, I swiftly looked at the time– – ten forty-eight– – and sighed. We made it to the building on time, but we were sure as hell late for his make-up appointment.

I quickly flashed my I.D. and admittance card to the young man at the front desk, grabbed Cullen by the arm– – he wasn't going to walk slow this time– – and fled to the elevator. Luckily, it was already on our floor when we reached it. I pushed Cullen into the glass elevator and hastily pushed the button for the 17th floor, completely ignoring the desperate cries of whoever it was who was too late to reach us on time, before the door closed. Yeah, I would probably feel bad about that later on, but for the time being, I couldn't care less.

Sighing, I turned around and realized that we were in an transparent, all-glass elevator. I walked towards the back of it, and stared in awe at the beautiful city spread out before and under me. Seattle was truly a pretty place.

"Hey, Cullen. Did you see this view?" I shot my head back, with my fingers still pressed upon the glass facing the city and looked at Cullen and frowned.

He had his back facing me and was pressed up so close to the elevators doors, that I was afraid he was going to break right through them.

"Cullen?" I asked, worried at his sudden appearance. He was standing extremely stiff, and breathing rather heavily– – considering that we hadn't even run here.

When he refused to answer me, I stomped up to him, which took me almost ten full steps in such a huge elevator, and grabbed him by his arm– – twirling him around and closer to me.

At the movement, Cullen's eyes probed open wide, and he gasped. My eye brows knitted together as he roughly pulled my arm off of him– – which, admittedly, hurt– – and retreated back to the doors behind him, closing his eyes tightly and breathing heavier.

"Cullen…?" I whispered, even more worried now. What was happening? God, please don't tell me he was having some attack…. .

Before my mind gained its coherency back, a _ding_ sound rang through the elevator, almost making me jump. Cullen, however, had much faster reaction-time than I, and spun out as soon as the gong sounded. The doors hadn't even opened all the way when he slid through a margin, that even I thought impossible to squeeze through, and bolted towards the end of the hall all before I had even managed to step out.

_What just happened?_

I walked towards Cullen hesitantly, as he stood slumped against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and gasped. _So that was it!_

My mind reeled back to our dinner the other day, and Cullen's story of falling out of a tree played itself over in my head, and I almost clapped my hands together in realization. So he was scared of heights!

Biting back the urge to smile at my sudden discovery, I stopped in front of him, and said, "You should have told me you were afraid of heights."

Cullen flinched at my words, and remained silent for a while before answering, "But that's so uncool."

I snorted, and took a step closer to him, "Having a Bird Phobia is _way_ more uncool, I think."

A whole minute passed before a slight grin ran across Cullen's face, and I found myself smiling along with him. His grins really were infectious.

"Come on then," he sighed, pulling himself off the wall, and grabbing me by my wrist, "If we weren't late before, we certainly might be now."

I rolled my eyes, surprised that I didn't feel angry at all, and said, "We were late before. You were just too much in denial to realize it."

Cullen chuckled, and shook his head, "I told you it would be alright, didn't I? Have you no faith in me?"

I cocked a brow at him, and suppressed a smirk._ Trust? In him? Was he crazy?_

"You could at least lie," he pointed out, bending his upper body low so that our faces could be closer, a devilish grin on his face. How could someone look so good…looking so bad?

"I don't like to lie," I told him breathily, as he stepped closer to me.

"Really?" he murmured gently, bringing the hand that wasn't around my wrist, up to my face. I gulped as his fingers touched my cheek to grab what I assumed was a strand of hair, and brushed it behind my ear.

I felt my face heat up.

"There. Much better."

Before I could fall under the power of his magic-casting– – or so I figured– – eyes, I averted my gaze, and wheeled around him. It was no good! I always felt like I was falling when he smoldered me with those unbelievably sexy eyes.

_Falling? Falling for what?_

Before another word could be said, or another thought created, a sudden voice called out from in front of us, and my head jerked up in alarm.

"Edward, darling!" A gorgeous man who looked to be in his late twenties came basically skipping towards us. He was twirling. He was literally twirling!

"God, I've been waiting so long to officially meet you!" The man, who I soon recognized as Ben Cheney, an upcoming fashion designer and photographer, gushed at Cullen.

Cullen merely smiled at him, a polite smile, and said, "The pleasure's all mine."

Ben beamed at him, and sent a wink flying his way, before turning to me and saying, "Hello, Bella. It's a pleasure working with you again."

I nodded, trying to hide my surprise at the man's previous exuberant behavior, and said, "It's you who I am honored to work with. You always handle our models with great care, and bring them onto a whole other level. Twilight Runway appreciates all of your decisions to hold contracts with us."

Ben grinned at me, and said, "Of course! You do covet the gorgeous Jacob Black," he then paused, and backtracked up to Cullen, and wrapped his arms around Cullen's elbows, while squeezing himself tighter to him, "but this guy… he's just _dazzling_. You certainly do have a good eye when it comes to the great ones. I've only seen him in pictures, but now that I see him in the flesh, I can tell you that he's going to hit it big. Perhaps Edward-darling will be even more popular than Black?"

Edwards lips curved into a smile.

And to my surprise– – and utter horror– – mine did as well.

"My God…" I breathed as I watched the an incredible sight before play out before me.

I just couldn't believe my eyes. Was such a thing even possible?

I watched as Cullen alternated different poses and positions, and I couldn't help but stare in awe at the figure of perfection that stood before me.

It was impossible! No human being could look so… completely perfect!

Before the shoot had started, I asked Ben, who still refused to release Cullen from his hold, if we had to time to apply some last minute make-up and accessories. I was astonished when he waved his hand in front of me, nonchalantly, as if brushing away a nonsensical suggestion, and laughed, "Make-up? On his perfect face and skin? I would never!"

I could do nothing more than stare at him with my mouth agape.

"His complexion is marvelous! His eyes are the perfect color, his hair is remarkable! No matter how many professionals we hire, we would never be able to attain such a sexy, disheveled look, and make it seem so natural. Edward-darling is remarkable as he is. All he needs to do is change his clothes, and we're ready to shoot."

And I repeat; All I could do was stare at him with my mouth agape. Like I said, was that even possible?

Ok, so Cullen was unbelievably and inhumanly handsome, but even the most attractive of men needed to be toned up. Even Jake– – with his blemish-less face and even complexion– – needed to be touched up before a shoot. I figured that Ben was just trying to save time. Time was money, after all. I figured that, until I witnessed for myself just how God-like Cullen was on shoot.

If I hadn't been sitting, I was almost positive that my knees would have collapsed. He looked so amazing… so incredible…that I couldn't even put it into words! His body was carved to perfection, and his clothes shaped him all the more. I had to refrain from licking my lips when I saw him walk out in a tight, green turtle-neck shirt, revealing his six pack and large arm muscles, which ran down into a pair of mahogany jeans and stylish black and green shoes. The shirt complimented his eyes to the extreme and would stand out immensely in gray-scale pictures. The pants, which I recognized as "Spells" newest denim-type, tugged nicely at his sides, and even nicer at his rear. In other, non-fashion obsessed and bodily detailed words; He was hot.

I marveled at him, and watched his every move, completely immersed in his features and face. It really was a sin; to look so great. Must the majority of jack asses in the world, look so damn good?

The shoot was going perfectly fine, that is, until the second model made her appearance: Fashion Aries #3 model, Lauren Malory.

I had never had a problem with her before. But of course, before she wasn't clinging her gorgeous body all over my model in front of the camera!

It took everything I had to stay in my seat, so that I wouldn't intrude on the scene and rip her away from him. This was a photo shoot, for chrissake! The theme was 'Sensual pop'– – _Not_ 'Sex on the beach'!

Every time she clung to him, or pressed her body into his, I just wanted to scream. Cullen might have been a bastard, but he certainly didn't deserve to be molested by some skimpy tramp. My scowl deepened until the point that I was frightened it would permanently engrave into my face.

And then Ben's next few words made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"And that's a wrap! Great job, everyone!" he called out, to my supreme happiness.

Even though the words were clearly said, Lauren didn't remove her hands from around Cullen's neck.

I shot up from my seat, fully prepared to pull Cullen away from her, when I suddenly froze. Why was I even getting mad in the first place? So what if some woman was hanging all over him. Why would I be angry about that?

I continued to stay lost in my thoughts, when a sudden vibration felt along my outer thigh. I pulled out the phone from my pocket, and in the process, looked up at Cullen who was a few feet away from me. How had he even managed to get away from Lauren?

_He really is handsome…_

Remembering that someone had called me, I flipped my cell phone over, and slightly frowned as the name, 'Jake' appeared on the screen. I rarely ever picked up my phone during work, unless it was work related, but Jake knew that perfectly well.

My frown deepened, and without thinking, I lifted a finger to silence Cullen– – who opened his mouth to say something– – before he could come within a three foot proximity to me. Turning my attention back to my cell, I pressed 'talk', and placed the phone on my ear.

"Jake?" I asked, concern in my voice. Jake knew that I didn't like being interrupted by personal calls when I was at work. He knew, yet he had called anyways. My head was becoming overwhelmed with the assumption that he might have been hurt. Or something might have happened to him.

Jake remained quiet, and I grew all the more panicked. Cullen was standing right before me, but I didn't dare to look at his face. I didn't know what expression he would carry, or what expression I expected him to have, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good one, so I kept my eyes downcast and strained to listen to any sound coming from the other line.

"Jake?" I repeated, even more urgent.

"Bells?" His voice asked, surprised. I frowned at his tone. Why was he shocked? Wasn't it he who just called me?

Another second of silence passed, and Jake finally spoke, "I'm sorry Bells. I think I inputted your number, though I wasn't intending to," another moment of silence, and then, "but it's probably because I was thinking about you so intently, so…"

I couldn't help but chuckle. Jacob was really too sweet and adorable. Only he could pull of saying something so heartwarmingly cheesy, and get away with it without looking like a loser or desperate pervert.

"Well, since you picked up, do you want to have dinner later on?"

I rolled my eyes. Why would he even ask?

"Sure, Jake. When and where?"

"Mm…" He mused, "I'm not sure. I'll meet you at your apartment after the audition, and we'll decide from there."

"Alright. See you tonight, then?"

Jake agreed, and we hung up without saying anything else. He must have been surrounded by people, well, _important _people, for him not to conclude the call with some more cheesy and romantic comments. Jake usually ended a phone call with something along the lines of, "Can't wait to see you" or "I'll miss you".

I smiled again. Why did I have a feeling that he had every intention of calling me for dinner?

Snapping the phone shut, the smile on my face faltered when I looked up to see a fuming and highly annoyed Cullen staring back at me, with narrowed eyes.

Despite the fact that I was confused as to why he had such an expression, all I could think was "_If looks could kill…"._

"Cull– – " I began, but my words were stopped short when Cullen's hand fell over my mouth, and stepped closer to me, pulling our faces so close together that we were nearly inches apart.

"Bella, go on a date with me."

And the only thing I heard after that was the sound of my phone slipping through my fingers and landing to the floor with a sharp _thud._

That, and the sound of my pounding heart.


	4. dinner laughing! Heals are bad for Bella

_**Bella.**_

I was depressed.

Staring into the mirror that hung from a nail on my wall, I ran my hands along the sides of the dark blue, silk dress I was planning on wearing to dinner tonight, and smoothed it out. I stared at my refection for a while, pondering whether or not the low-cut trims on the dress revealed too much of both chest and legs, and shrugged nonchalantly. It wasn't as if I had much chest to show, anyway.

Frowning, I reeled my eyes away from my slim figure and focused on my make-up and hair. They _looked_ decent enough. Glancing down, I twisted my ankles to get a better view of the heels that matched perfectly with the dress. Of course, both the dress and the heels had been given to me by Alice during one of the many shopping sprees I had endured for her throughout the years.

I didn't like dressing up on days that I did not have to work. Even so, I made an appreciative attempt to look my best. If I didn't, I would only have to suffer for it later. I shivered at the image of Alice dragging me back to her house to change clothes. I was nothing more than a Barbie doll in her eyes. She, of course, didn't care that I knew it, either.

Sighing, I grabbed my small, silver purse from on top of my bed and hastily tried to stuff all my carry-on cosmetics and necessities in. That proved to be more difficult, than necessary.

I was half-way through the door when I remembered the person who would be accompanying me today.

That forced another sigh from me.

I turned on my heels and grabbed a packet of Aspirin from the cupboard in my kitchen. If I was going to survive the night with that bastard, I was desperately going to need some pain-killers. Drugs worked wonders in head-throbbing situations. It was only a shame that I ran out of the Tylenol PM, that usually knocked me out. I regretted going through the bottle so quickly after that first week Cullen was assigned to me.

While I was making my way to the silver car parked just across the street from my apartment, I forced myself not to turn back and get another packet of meds, reminding myself that I wasn't a junkie.

"_At least I didn't have to worry about people seeing me dressed like this",_

_I thought to myself, optimistically. The neighborhood I lived in was a peaceful, quiet area. You saw people walking their dogs early in the morning, and heading out to work. That was about it, really. It suited me just fine. Because of my job, it was expected that I wore name-brand items and expensive clothing. Even so, I kept my daily ensembles fashionable and simple._

Once inside the car, I turned the heater on even before strapping on my seatbelt. Though the weather man had so buoyantly stated that the temperature would reach a reassuring temp of 65 degrees, a blessing for the crisp, sunless month of October, I was still cold. Staring down at the incredibly thin fabric that covered my body, I mentally cursed myself for not bringing a sweater.

I pulled out of the parking slot carefully, an over-cautious act seeing as there were no cars, nor people, anywhere near me, and picked up the pace when I reached the first corner of the block.

I was really depressed.

After Edward had left my office yesterday, I received a dejecting phone call from the one person who I had been anxiously waiting to call me: Jacob.

We had a pretty normal conversation, aside from the fact that my stomach had been completely overwhelmed with butterflies and other tingly things.

Jacob had been busy, lately. Since the time he received news of his fathers sudden charge to a hospital after collapsing, and with his new La Vogues' modeling contract, Jacob had been running back and forth between work and hospital visits for the past month. I knew that he must have been stressed, and I couldn't wait for him to finish his contract and come back. I missed him.

"Yeah, Bells," he told me bleakly on the phone, his voice carried slight hints of exhaustion, "So I probably wont be able to return back to the agency for another two weeks or so."

I had to give it my all just to control the sadness in my voice. There was no point in causing Jacob excess stress. What good would I be if I played the disconsolate victim, begging him to come back anyways?

"I see," the response was short. Brief. The less words I used the better; I wasn't exactly a talented actress. The truth was far from it, in fact.

And the conversation ended just like that. Jacob said he loved me, bringing a smile to my face, and then hung up, promising me the world, as he so often did, when he returned.

The doleful news had more of an impact on me than I imagined it would. I almost cried that night– – something that was strictly out of character for me.

I hit the breaks of the car softly as I neared the front of the restaurant. Just as I expected, it was huge. I cursed Alice once more.

When I stepped out of the car, I handed the car keys to the young valet who offered to assist me. I almost chuckled in amusement at how much he blushed when our fingers touched.

I straightened myself out once more, making sure that there were no recent crinkles in the dress from the thirty minutes I had been sitting in the car. It would not get passed Alice's observant eyes, and she definitely wouldn't let it go, either.

Walking slowly– – carefully– – to the front of the restaurant, I kept my eyes furtively low so that I could watch out for any dangerous cracks in the pavement that would threaten to catch my pick-like heels. Though it didn't lower the chances of me tripping on something dramatically, it did put my mind at ease, for the most part. It also demanded enough attention to distract my mind from the many people around me. That was a bonus in itself.

With my attention concentrated on the ground, it was inevitable that I would bump into someone.

"Oh!" I gasped, as I crashed into somebody. Before I could stagger to the floor from the impact, someone grabbed me firmly from the waist and held me up; preventing me from falling.

I was too embarrassed to look up.

"T-thank you…" I stammered, flushed. Leave it to me to collide into someone just seconds after I got out of my car!

I steadied myself, and finally, reluctantly, looked up into the man who I had almost taken down with me. I should at least apologize properly.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't paying atte--" My apology stopped short when I came face to face with what was probably the most stunning face I'd ever seen. He was smiling, and his beautiful, hazel eyes were smoldering me. I couldn't remember what I was going to say…

And then he laughed.

My eyes probed wide as the man suddenly burst into laughter, removing his hand from my waist so that he could support his stomach which was probably aching from the insult it was inflicting to my chagrin.

It was Cullen. I was furious.

"You bastard," I growled between clenched teeth, shoving him away from me. My fury was aroused due to the foreboding humiliation that seared through me. I felt stupid for not getting the extra Aspirin when I had the chance.

Though his barking laugh subsided, he still continued to tremble. I walked away from him, recalling why my aversion towards Cullen was justified.

"Wait up," I heard his voice call after me. No matter how fast I tried to walk, my heels would only permit me so much speed. In an instant he had already caught up with me. I was shaking from anger. It was bad enough that my clumsiness had resulted in the attention of many onlookers, but for him to laugh like that? When I was trying so hard to hold back the tears….

"What's wrong," he sounded startled as I abruptly stopped, turning my back on him. My traitorous tears were already close to spilling, stubbornly loath to listen to me.

"Bella," I felt as his arms grabbed onto my shoulders, and twirled me around to face him. That was all it took. I felt a tear fall in betrayal. My eyes still remained narrowed, and I was still shaking in anger.

"What?" I snapped, glaring at him coldly. It was also out of character for me to cry in front of others, but my clumsiness had always been such a major source of self-consciousness for me. It didn't help at all that I was also prone to cry when angered. In other words: I was an emotional wreck.

"I didn't mean to laugh," he tried to assure me. His expression was so panicked that it almost made me drop my attitude. Almost. "It was just so funny! I've never seen anyone concentrate so hard _not_ to fall before… just to end up almost falling anyway!"

My eyes grew tighter. In what way was that supposed to console me? Though his persuasion skills were top-notch, his comforting ones left much to be desired.

He was just so serious that I could not glower at him anymore. I was still reasonably angered, nonetheless.

"I don't like being laughed at," I admitted, darkly, "so keep in mind _not_ to do it again."

Cullen pursed his lips into a tight line to refrain from laughing again.

I wiped my hand over my eyes and rubbed furiously. Tears always made them irritated.

"Hey, what are you doing," Cullen snapped, grabbing my wrists with a stern hold, "If you do that you'll only irritate them more."

"Let me go," I snapped, trying to pull away from his hold on me. It was futile. His hand-formed manacles only resisted my struggles effortlessly. His grip tightened, but not enough to cause me pain. Why was this guy so strong?

"Hold still," he ordered, pulling me closer to him. Our bodies were almost touching, and our faces were nearly inches apart. What was he going to do?

My heart was pounding loudly in my chest.

And then all I could feel was warm air wash over my face. The smell was sweet.

I stood there, frozen, as Cullen blew into my eyes gently, like a parent would to a child who could not remove a fallen eyelash.

When Cullen pulled away, and released his hold on my wrists, I was still too stunned to move. My breath was frozen in place.

"You know," he started, his eyes running up and down my body, making me feel severely unaware of the fact that I had clothes, "That dress looks magnificent on you."

I gulped.

"What--" My voice was low, probably too low to hear. Even my own ears were having troubles understanding the volume in which I spoke. Cullen cut me off before I could continue.

"They really emphasize your breasts. I didn't know you had enough on you to form any level of cleavage." His tone was serious.

Once again, my eyes probed open at his words. If I had been feeling appreciative to this guy just seconds before, those feelings had definitely diminished with the new comments that rolled out of his smart-ass mouth.

And _that _is exactly why I hate him! I reminded myself, bitterly, my mental tone hostile.

"You--" I desired nothing more than to once again punch the heckling moron in the face. I was so sick and tired of his impending chaste…! I presumed things would be like this from the start, so why was I even bothering to get uselessly mad?

My hands that had already balled into fists turned rigid when I heard a familiar, high-pitched voice call my name from behind.

"Bella!" I turned around to see Alice rushing at me. I sighed, both from the burning fury that had just subsided and from the speckle of jealousy that I always felt when I looked at Alice. Her movements were always so fluid and graceful. She could shame a ballerina any day.

"Hey, Alice," I tried to sound jocund, at least for Alice's sake.

I peered over her shoulder at the tall, blonde and handsome man that stood nearly a foot away from her; Jasper. Though they had only been dating for a little over under five months, I had already become accustomed to the man's presence. Aside from his whole military obsession, he was a great guy. There was also the benefiting factor that he was just as crazy about Alice, as Alice was about him.

"Hey, Jasper," I greeted him informally. I had almost always done so, since Alice had informed me just after their first date to drop the formalities with him.

"You'll be seeing him for the a long time– – possibly forever," Alice had reassured me when Jasper and I had first been introduced. She had the…_feeling_ again. At the time, I shrugged and did what she asked; it wasn't wise to go against Alice.

"Hi, Bella," Jasper returned the greeting with warm smile.

Alice took a glance behind me, and suddenly removed her arms from around my shoulders. I watched after her, knowingly, as she moved behind me and suddenly called, "Bella?"

'_You reap what you sew'_

_I told myself._

"Yes, Alice?" I tried to sound innocent as I turned around. She was standing nearly two feet in front of Cullen, and her eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

"Introduce us!" She ordered, firmly. Leave it to Alice to pinpoint the exact guy I had brought along with me. If it wasn't her intuition that pointed Cullen out, then it was definitely her assumption that the guy would be gorgeous. I was a manager for beautiful men, after all.

"This is Edward Cullen, my partner for tonight– – " I cleared my throat to hide the resentment in it, "Cullen, this is my friend Alice Brandon and…", I cocked my head in the direction of the man behind her, "…her boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock."

"It's nice to meet you, Edward." Alice smiled, taking the hand that he offered and shaking it enthusiastically.

"The same to you," Edward greeted, his expression gentleman-like. I nearly rolled my eyes. "Thanks for inviting me," he continued as he shook hands with Jasper.

"I'm quite surprised you're here, actually," Alice admitted, and resumed when she noticed that Edward and I had both raised our eyebrows. "I figured that Bella would bring a _girl _with her or something."

Her voice was smug with approval.

Edwards face flashed into a wider smile. I knew that he wanted to laugh at that.

"And Bella," Alice cooed, happily, running her eyes over my attire, "you look very sexy! Tonight is just full of surprises!"

I frowned at her, and then narrowed my eyes at Cullen who suddenly asked, inquiringly, "What do you mean?"

Alice almost giggled.

"Don't you know Bella's taste in clothing?" She ignored me as I shook my head, warningly, "Of all the clothes this girl has in her closet, her favorite things would definitely be her sweat pants and exercise shirts."

You could tell that Alice didn't find anything funny about that at all. She almost spat the last part of her sentence.

I saw Cullen glance in my direction, and when he realized that I had been looking at him, he flashed me an honored grin.

_Jerk._

"So, shall we get going then?" Jasper asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood with a change of subject.

I smiled gratefully at him, and he sent a wink in my direction.

"All right then, let's go." Alice agreed.

I glowered at her. I would get her back for her decision to be so talkative tonight. Even so, it was surprising; Alice wasn't usually so loose lipped. What had changed?

"So…" Cullen prolonged the vowel, "Sweatpants?"

I ignored him.

Cullen was walking right beside me as we followed Alice and Jasper into the restaurant. I wanted to snap at him to _not _walk so close to me, and then remembered that he was my partner tonight. I couldn't help but think I was a masochist of sorts.

We walked inside, through eloquently grand doors, into what was probably the most majestic and flamboyant dining place I had ever been. I made an attempt to gulp down my nervous-state. It didn't work.

"You don't look so good," Cullen told me, as we began walking to the main dining room.

"Ugh, don't remind me," I nearly barfed, "I hate places like this. It's unsettling."

Cullen stared at me incredulously for a moment, and then– – after seeing the genuine discomfort that was easily showcased on my face– – said, "You're weird."

_Humph_

_. He didn't have to tell _

_me._

"Thanks for the compliment," I added sourly as we approached a statuesque pair of spiral stairs.

I groaned again. I hated stairs.

"Hold onto me," I commanded viciously, holding out my arm and gesturing for him to lock his own into it. I would overlook his intrigued smirk just this once. It was almost nothing compared to the humiliation I would no doubt have to face if I were to fall down such a long staircase. Almost.

Instead of accepting my arm, Cullen pulled out and offered his own so that I could slip mine into it. I stared at his outstretched limb almost repulsively.

'_Stupid men and their stupid pride'_

_I thought bitterly, rolling my eyes and tucking it under and around his arm. At least he had complied. _

My insides were in chaos. The stairs were indeed long, but it was odd that I was so nervous, too. It must have been the heels.

We walked down slowly, carefully, ignoring the impatient coughs and grunts from the people behind us. Cullen was shaking, trying to refrain himself from laughing, making my grip on him not as secure as I had wanted. That only made me walk slower.

When we were finally down the stairs, I breathed a sigh of relief, and Cullen could hold back no longer. Though his laughs were inaudible, the tears that fell from his eyes were indeed visible.

I stormed away from him, indignantly.

Once again, he made almost no effort to catch up to me.

On the way to our reserved table, number 12, I wasted no time in demonstrating to Cullen just how bad I could get when in full blown clumsiness mode. I bumped into a waiter handling shrimp, nearly knocking both him and myself down. I tripped on the hem of some lady's long draping dress, causing it to tear, and resulting with me apologizing like an idiot and giving her my address to send the dry cleaning bill to.

When I had thought that the coast was clear, we were nearly a yard away from the table where Jasper and Alice were seated, I snagged my purse on a golden statue of some Greek god or other, ripping a hole right through the bottom. My many cosmetics, accessories and– – to my absolute horror– – a tampon came falling down, scattering to a full three-foot ranging circumference around us.

By the time we had reached the table, my face was burning crimson. Both Cullen and I were holding various items that had originally been stuffed into my purse in our arms, and Cullen was still shaking uncontrollably.

"What took you guys so long?" Alice asked, skeptically. Her hands arms were crossed impatiently across her chest, and on the table were empty plates of appetizers. So that waiter had already come, huh?

Cullen's restraint was broken, and a loud, roaring sound erupted from him.

I wanted to die.

_**Edward.**_

I was going to die.

In an attempt to lessen the pain that churned at my core, I crossed my arms over my abs desperately. My stomach was hurting so much from laughing, I was positive that at any minute I would drop dead!

Never before had I ever indulged in such mind-blowing laughter. I could feel the tremors of my body, and I knew that tears had even fallen within the extremely long time frame that it took us to reach our designated table.

Bella was just too funny. It was just too hilarious!

For reasons unknown to me, I had been questionably eager to attend dinner with Bella. Though her criticizing comment on my looks daunted me, I still accepted her invitation to accompany her for the night. But never would I have expected to enjoy myself so much! I wasn't oblivious to the fact that she was a klutz– – she never failed to drop or spill something in my presence every so often when I lounged in her office, but today's incidents were just amazing. It had never occurred to me that she could be so lethally clumsy, almost to the point of critical disablement.

When I first arrived at the restaurant, I was already having second thoughts about the evening. I'm not one for conservative, pleasantry chatter with people who I barely knew. And it wasn't that I was new to such events, either. Since childhood, I had always attended monotonous and dreary parties, because of the social standing of my parents. Holding mundane chats with stuffy people had become an all-too-familiar routine. That was, presumably, the reason why I hung out with the 'wrong crowd' in high school.

I wasn't interested in abiding by others rules, and living up to expectations that contradicted who I was. That was the prominent reason why I could not get along with anyone since elementary school to middle school, or guys my own age whose fathers were friends with my parents, for that matter. Many people, my parents included, thought that I was just a loner. That was the case, however, it was by my own choice that it were that way. It was I who distanced myself from the people around me. If I had wanted to, I could have easily blended in– – acting like a pompous moron and strutting my fathers wealth, but I abhorred people who were like that. To me, it was nothing less than disgusting.

Even so, just because I didn't _flaunt_ my money, it didn't mean I didn't use it irresponsibly, either. Most of my allowance, and even more than that, at times, went straight to the circuit. I loved cars, and even more so, I loved speed. I spent almost every holiday, weekend or vacation renting out Karts or Stellar-Cars, using my fathers influence, of course. I would have loved to have made myself a career racing, but I knew that my mother– – both of them– – would have died of heart attacks at the mention. Even if I didn't care about anyone else around me, I did love my parents. Them, and my older step brother, Emmett.

Living almost twenty-years like that, it was to be expected that I wasn't the type to laugh so violently. It was more of a case that nothing had ever amused me to that point. Aside from Emmett and a handful of good acquaintances throughout the years, I had never seriously laughed before. Even the girls I dated were a bore. Including the one I dated, now. No one person had ever truly made me laugh.

That is, until I met Bella.

But Bella was just strange. That's probably why she amused me so. She was extremely unlike the other girls I knew, who basically threw themselves at me. That was also to be expected. I had money, I had good looks, not to mention that I was tall. I was accustomed to women of all ages, batting their eyes lashes and sending winks– – as well as phone numbers– – in my direction, but Bella was not like them. The only things here eyes ever did for me was narrow in anger, and the only requests she ever made for me was to 'leave her alone' or 'stop torturing her with my presence'. She threw objects, and even her own hand at times, but never herself. See? Bella was just strange.

I felt comfortable with Bella. She wasn't exactly a 'woman' in my eyes. If anything, she would be most closely associated with a Chihuahua. When she was mad at me, that is.

I was also expecting her to come with the usual boring clothes she often wore. But Bella had surprised me. Her choice of livery was unexpected. During the two weeks that I had known her, her style had always been plain. Although her clothes possessed name-brand titles, she lacked the selfish demands of wanton attention. It was almost as if she only wore expensive items for the sake of her image, not because she wanted to stand out. That was unanticipated; Didn't all girls like to look great? The thought also amused me; she was, after all, a manager for fashion models.

But today… she looked, admittedly, amazing. I was almost stunned. The dark-blue dress that stuck nicely to her skin complimented the natural curves of her body, and I was quite partial to that color with her complexion. Her hair was tied up, allowing only twin strands of dark hair to fall over her face. She wore makeup, though not much, and heels higher than two inches, no less. If it weren't for her almond shaped eyes, and heart shaped face; I would have never considered that she was truly herself.

But what was more interesting was that she focused so intensely on the pavement below her feet, watching for any cracks or other tiny dangers that threatened to break her thin ankles. She didn't even notice me standing right in front of her. Of course, I could have moved away, but where was the fun in that? She bumped into me, as expected, and nearly fell down in the process. Without realizing it, I had already grabbed her waist to support her. I was never intending to laugh… much, at least, but when I saw her flustered expression I couldn't hold myself back.

What shocked me most of all was the fact that she was crying! It was a sight that I had never thought possible, but there it was… there _she _was… shedding tears in either anger or abashment. Her eyes were fierce and furious, yet I still could not be sure what truly caused her tears. I was stupefied. I didn't know what to do.

Then, to my great surprise, she was honest enough to tell me that she did not like being laughed at. For some reason, that hit me the wrong way. I felt _guilty_.

I nearly scoffed at myself. I wasn't one to feel guilt, either, since I rarely did things that I would regret. My actions and words were usually direct interactive means of what I wanted or felt.

When she started rubbing my eyes, I found myself _wanting_ to comfort her. I didn't like the sight of her tears just as much as she probably disliked shedding them.

That, too, was new to me. I couldn't even count the times where my girlfriend, Tanya, had cried, and I would just wait for her to stop. That, or feign concern. Either way, it wasn't genuine– – on both our parts.

Her shocked expression at my sudden tenderness summoned the part me that enjoyed teasing her. I couldn't help but make a comment about her dress… and breasts. The words slipped out before I even thought of saying them.

Another uncommon action that I rarely ever experienced.

I took note that her tiny hands had balled into fists, and I was expecting her to swing at me. I enjoyed those little 'fights' of ours very much. She was unbelievably cute when she was made, and it was easy to tell that she didn't do them with anyone else, either. It was the sudden calling of her name that pulled her out of her tempered state.

A cute, pixie-like girl, who I assumed– – and had been correct– – was Alice, came rushing at her, followed by a good looking guy who I figured was her boyfriend. She spotted me immediately, and gave me a weird look. I was used to women staring at me, but this one was not doing it in the usual way that I knew.

The girl pushed herself away from Bella and walked over to me with these…_seeing_ eyes or something. It was nothing like I'd ever felt before. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought I was naked. That's how I felt, anyways.

It was a feeling that I usually got when I was being scolded by my father, only much, _much_ stronger.

"Introduce us!" She ordered Bella, eyeing me oddly. I was surprised that she even knew it was I who was accompanying her friend. I figured that Bella had probably given her some kind of physical description of me, but when I glanced at Bella, she looked just as amazed as I. It wasn't as if I had been directly next to Bella, either.

"Hello, _Edward."_ she greeted me. I nearly flinched when she put emphasis on my name, as if she were implying that there was something more to it. It wasn't so much rude as it was eerie. I didn't like the way she said it.

I was also verily bothered at how Bella kept referring to me as 'Cullen'. That annoyed me. When I thought about it, not once had she casually called me by my first name since the time we met. It was a struggle to keep my face friendly.

And then the strangest thing happened when Alice took my hand. A shock surged though me, tingling my insides uncomfortably. When I looked into Alice's eyes, she was smoldering me with her own. I felt as if I couldn't breathe, until she finally looked away from me and pulled her hand from my own, breaking whatever it is that we just shared.

That never happened to me before, either.

My first impression of Alice was that she was a real talker. Though, she had barely known me, she was already giving me a lot of details about Bella. I had to admit, the information was indeed interesting, especially the info that validated my prediction on why she dressed so casually. What amazed me was how it seemed as if Alice _wanted _me to know.

When I took another glance at Bella, she looked both angry and surprised at her friends sudden chatter. It seemed that Bella was just as shocked at how much Alice was talking.

When the boyfriend managed to change the subject, I was probably just as relieved as Bella was. I was interested in hearing about the side of her that she kept secret, but, on that same token, I also felt uncomfortable, hearing about it from Alice as if that were her intention. There was something about Alice that rubbed me the wrong way. From the weird looks she gave me, to the odd way she said my name – – – her behavior almost seemed _devious_. Simply put: She made me feel uneasy.

All my thoughts on that matter, however, ended when we reached an amazingly long set of stairs. I almost felt Bella grow rigid aside me.

"All you alright?" I asked her. She seemed as if she was going to be sick.

Even though she nodded, it looked to me like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to assure me. My lips pulled into an involuntary smile.

"Hold on to me!" she commanded, holding her arm out for me to take it. Was she so scared of falling? It took everything I had not to laugh aloud.

I held out my arm for her to take, instead. I saw the look of annoyance on her face, but I was raised– – to a certain age, at least– – to escort the woman. It wasn't the opposite.

Not that I truly perceived her as a woman, of course.

By the time we had finally reached the last landing of the stairs, I was almost laughing. We had been walking at an such an absurd pace, and every so often a person behind us would clear their throats in impatience or mutter something unintelligible in annoyance. Her face would darken in color, but still, she ignored them and kept her attention on the steps below her feet. Muscle cramps had already begun to form in my stomach. Now I understood why she only wore shoes with thick, short heels. It's because she considered heels dangerous!

To my amusement, and to her extreme embarrassment, her clumsy streak did not end just there. On the way to the table, she had been so preoccupied with trying to out-walk me that she came slamming into a waiter, causing the shrimp on the poor mans tray to come splattering everywhere. In her efforts to apologize, she stepped on the hem of some woman's white dress, tearing a long, black tear right through it. She was a brilliant shade of maroon when she had to give the woman her address to send the cleaning bill to.

I was almost dying, but managed to keep my laughter to low, almost inaudible chuckles. I was still shaking uncontrollably, though.

We were nearly a yard away from our table when I heard her breathe a sigh of relief. We had accomplished _half _that yard without incident, when Bella suddenly snagged her purse on a golden statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. All of her belongings came spilling down. By that time, I was almost on my knees from laughing so hard! I helped her pick up her stuff as an excuse to bend down, but immediately shot back up when I noticed what the first thing I had grabbed was: A purple tampon.

I didn't know they sold them in that color.

She snatched it from my hand so quickly, that a snort still managed to escape. Looking at her heated face, I wasn't sure _who_ was closer to death; me, from laughing so much, or Bella, for her shameful mortification?

When we finally reached the table, it was _I _who breathed a sigh of relief. I knew that if anything else had happened I would have exploded.

And then Alice had to hit the final blow.

"What took you guys so long?" She asked. I watched as Bella's face did the impossible. It reddened even more as she looked down to see plates of appetizers on the table. So the waiter had already come…

And that was it. I exploded. With one line, my efforts came crumbling down and I was consumed by the painful humor that had been eating away at me for the longest time.

I couldn't breathe, and though I knew it was rude, and even improper, I couldn't help myself any more than Bella could at her awful clumsiness.

That Edward was new to me. An Edward who couldn't control his laughter even to save-face, wasn't a me who I had known all my life. I wasn't familiar with him.

At that moment, I also thought that I wouldn't mind getting to know that Edward, either.

I pinched my sides, trying to calm the aching throb in my ribs. Never in my life had I laughed so much before. To have thought that it could ever be so…._painful._ I had always believed that laughing to the point of physical soreness was impossible. Foolishly inane, even. But the experience itself was mind-blowing.

I was right, after all. I was really going to die.


	5. ewwwww

_**Edward.**_

"I'm terribly sorry about that," I apologized to both Alice and Jasper who were staring at me, startled– – their mouths slightly agape, "Please forgive my rudeness."

I did feel quite bad about my ill-mannered behavior. Though I did feel remorse, the smile on my face did not falter, even as I was apologizing. Masking my emotions used to be almost effortless for me. It was uncomprehending that I could not act on my usual talents at such a dire moment.

"No problem," Jasper reassured me, wonder in his blue eyes. Of course he would be amazed– – he had probably just witnessed what was possibly the most barbaric outburst of humor, coming from a grown man, in an upstanding restaurant, no less. I was still too amused to feel embarrassed. Or ashamed, for that matter.

"Did something happen?" Alice inquired, cocking her brow at the woman beside me who was burning a brilliant shade of red.

At that moment, I was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to protect Bella. It was strange, but I couldn't stop my words from trying to defend her, "Bella was just being inadvertently funny," I informed them. My smirk broadened when I turned around to see a pink-faced Bella glaring up at me.

She really was kind of cute when she was angry.

"And what happened to your purse, Bells?" Alice asked, staring down at the empty purse in Bella's hands, then at the many cosmetics we were holding. Well, _she_ was holding. The items that I had originally been carrying had fallen upon the table at my sudden outburst. That caused another chuckle from me.

"Would you happen to have an extra bag on you, Alice?" Bella asked, her voice hoarse. She turned away from me to look at Alice, who look amused rather than surprised, at her friends sudden question.

"Mm," Alice confirmed, reaching down and grabbing her own purse. She rummaged through the large black bag, causing a ruckus that made everyone question the contents of it, and suddenly pulled out a white purse like a magician pulled out a bunny from a magic hat.

When she noticed that everyone was staring at her, obviously curious as to why she brought two purses, she shrugged and said, "I had a feeling that a spare might me needed."

I looked at Bella who was now smiling, though the flushed color still hadn't abandoned her cheeks. She stuffed her belongings into the purse, including the purple tampon which she furtively tried to slip in, and zipped it shut sharply.

She was just too funny.

"Well, sit," Alice ordered, gesturing us both with a wave of her hand, "I'm starving here!"

Jasper let out a chuckle as Bella and I sat down at the white, circular table, our seats right next to each other.

At that moment, it was as if someone had summoned the waiter.

"Would you like your menu's now?" A man of Spanish-descent asked, carrying four long and skinny books in his hands.

"Yes, please." Alice replied, moving her hands from off the table so the waiter could place the burgundy menu in front of her. He left immediately when all of us had received one, but not after reminding us that his name was, 'Georges', and that he would return in five minutes.

I opened the menu, curious to see the type of cuisine this restaurant served, and smiled at the recognition of the foods. French and Japanese; A weird combination, but ultimately, my favorites. I had assumed that this place served Greek cuisine, since it had statues of Greek Gods. Even the name was nationally off; '_Mis amas vin' _was Esperanto for 'I love/like you', last time I checked.

It took me no longer than a minute to scan through the menu, and probably another minute to decide on what I wanted. As I closed the book shut, I looked up to see if anyone else had already finished deciding. They had not.

"I don't know what any of this stuff is," I heard Bella mutter. Her face looked absolutely troubled.

"I don't either," Alice admitted. Though, unlike Bella, she looked almost excited at the sudden challenge that lay before her, "How about you, Jazz?"

We all looked at Jasper, who peeked up from his menu, and smirked.

"The French menu," he said, calmly, "I've been to France on quite a few occasions, so I'm pretty familiar with their food. As for the Japanese items on here…." He shook his head, perfectly stumped.

I peeked at Bella from the corner of my eyes. She looked astonished.

"Is that what this stuff is? Japanese?"

I almost snorted.

Coincidentally, she must have noticed.

"I expect that _you_ know what this stuff is," She accused, her tone annoyed.

I shrugged, casually. "I've also been to France a few times. And I'm very interested in Japan, so…"

She didn't look convinced.

"Then what is _this_?" she challenged, turning her menu over to face me. She pointed at an item under the "_Yakimono_" section, and smirked. I _figured _she wouldn't dare attempt the pronunciation of it.

"_Unagi Yakisoba_," I told her, "It's grilled eel on fried noodles."

She looked surprised for a second, and then her expression turned curious.

"Eel? Really? Is it any good?"

I smiled despite myself, "Sure. If you're into fish."

Her eyes turned puzzled and she asked, "You don't like fish?"

I shook my head, and found myself scowling, "I don't make it a habit of eating things that swim in their own feces."

She frowned at me. But, the curves of her lips suddenly rose into a smile, and a light laugh escaped her. Did that really surprise her?

"Well, I like fish," she told me, her eyes still gleaming, "so I'll let you decide on what I should eat."

Raising an eyebrow at her, I asked, "But wouldn't you be better off ordering something less exotic? Like Veal or something…?"

"I want to eat something new," she shook her head stubbornly. Unintended, my eyes flickered to the pout of her lips. I had to admit, they were gorgeous. Full and pink, with a slight shimmer of shine from the lip gloss, they puckered out adamantly. They were very much unlike Tanya's, whose lips were always covered in red paint. Tanya's lips were too skinny. She tried to make up for it with her experienced tongue, but it failed miserably with the lack of plump flesh, nonetheless.

"What are you staring at?" Bella's voice sent a bolt through me. I stared at her, dumbly, for a minute, and when I had finally mustered up the words, lied, "I was daydreaming. What were you saying?"

Her look was bothered again, but she let it go.

"So, have you already decided what I'll be eating?"

"Do you trust me enough for that?" I smirked, raising a brow. I couldn't help the feeling that washed over me at my own words. Was it…._pleasure?_

She mirrored the expression.

"Well, I'll advise you now that anything I don't like will assuredly end up on that dashing gray suit of yours." Her voice was teasing and– – was it my imagination– – flirty?

"Bending the rules to suit your approval is a foul move indeed, Bella." I duplicated her tone, smirking.

She grinned at me, a stunning, mischievous grin, that almost made me breathless.

"No one said anything about playing fair," Bella reminded me, "I'm not commanding you, either. It's only mannerly for me to warn you of what _could_ happen to that expensive-looking suit of yours."

What was with me today? No, what was with _Bella _today? She was almost… captivating. Could it be her sudden change in attire? Or the fact that I was still flustered from laughing? Whatever it was, it was almost as if I couldn't take my eyes off of her…

I pinched my arm, hard, from under the table. What was I thinking, believing that I was attracted to such a woman? Didn't I say that I would never fall for her?

I bit my bottom lip at those words. '_Fall_ for her'? I couldn't possibly. There was just no way! Just because a person thought another woman looked absolutely stunning _one day_ out of, probably, the whole year, didn't mean that they had _fallen _for her! That was just ridiculous.

My own feelings were adverse. The only reason I decided to stay at that agency was because I felt my manager was entertaining. She was different; a fun tease. Had something changed?

"Fine," I reasoned, still bothered by my current thought, "I'll accept your challenge."

There was no way that I could possibly come to like such a coarse, common woman. I would prove that. You cant, after all, make the woman you loved– – though that was impossible– – feel bad. I would ascertain. I _had_ to.

When I turned away from Bella, I suddenly felt the stare of someone's eyes on me. Looking up, I saw Alice's eyes boring into mine as they did before. I immediately felt uncomfortable.

I dropped my eyes to the table, averting her gaze.

Why was she looking at me like that again? And why did it make me feel so unsettled?

"Are you ready to make your orders?" The same waiter appeared, unnoticeably. I almost jumped in alarm when he suddenly appeared at my side. His inconspicuous movements were amazing.

Jasper was the first to speak, "I would like a '_Blanquette de veau' _and a **'**_Gougère'_." He spoke the name of the foods with such fluency that I was utterly amazed.

The waiter turned his eyes to Alice.

"A '_Bouillabaisse' _and a '_Hamachi Kama' _for me." Alice chirped, passing her closed menu to the waiter. The way she pronounced everything was a little off, but it sounded almost plausible with her cute voice.

"And you, ma'am?" The waiters eyes wandered warily over to Bella, who in return, turned to me with a grin.

I almost reciprocated it. Almost, if my lips would have been able to.

"She'll be having an order of '_Motsunabe'– – _" I struggled to retain a frown, "– – '_Tonkatsudon' _and a side order of '_Gyouza'– – _"

As soon as he finished jotting it down, I continued, "– – I'll be having the same, minus the '_Motsunabe'_, and with '_Omu_-_soba'."_

He nodded, scanned the note pad in his hands, and then asked, "And drinks?"

Each of us went around calling out our beverages of choice in the same ordering sequence.

"Long island iced tea, for me."

"Umm… A large coke, extra ice, with two slices of _both_ lime and lemon each, topped off with a cherry."

Bella, in turn, answered for herself this time, "I would like a sprite."

When the waiter finally looked at me, I blurted out one of the two drinks that I had been previously debating on.

"Sake."

The waiter, Georges, nodded to us one last time and disappeared just as quickly as he had come.

"Did you see that guy?" I heard Alice mutter aloud, "He moves in and out so quickly! I would swear he was a vampire or something."

Jasper laughed at that. It wasn't even really that funny; well, not enough to deserve a laugh. Looking at his eyes though, you could tell that he felt almost anything Alice said was amusing.

"What was it that you ordered for me?" Bella asked, skeptically.

I bit my lip to calm the gnawing anxiety I felt, "You'll see when it gets here. Aren't you the impatient one?"

I watched as she rolled her eyes.

"So, _Edward," _I heard my name being called from across me, the same emphasis on it as the last time, "Are you a model?"

I started at Alice for a while before replying.

"I'm just starting my career." Simple. Unexplainable.

"That's interesting. I didn't take you as the modeling type, though."

'_What did it matter to her what type I was?'_

_I thought, defensively._

"You seem more like a company president or something. From your conduct, that is."

I shrugged. I was the son of a company president, after all. A few things were bound to rub off on me.

But Alice didn't just stop at that.

"How old are you? Twenty? Nineteen?"

I frowned and cocked my head. It was rare for others to guess my age correctly. No matter _how_ you looked at me, I seemed at least twenty-two."

"I'm nineteen." I affirmed, still frowning.

"Huh," She said thoughtfully, "And is Bella your manager?"

I was confused as to where these questions were headed, "Yes, that's right."

"For how long?"

I frowned again.

"How long what?"

Alice rolled her eyes impatiently, as if it were obvious that I should know.

"How long have you been working with Bella?"

'_Oh.'_

"For about two weeks… I guess." Alice was doing it again; Making me feel awkwardly constrained.

"And do you have a girl friend?"

I opened my mouth to question her, when my attempt was interrupted by Bella's shocked voice.

"Alice," she hissed, her eyes wide, "What do you think you're doing? This isn't 20 million questions!"

Alice stared back at Bella defensively, and muttered, "Fine." before crossing her arms over her chest, stubbornly remorseless.

Everyone remained quiet until out waiter arrived with our meals. Though it was hard to tell, he looked almost confused at the tension that just recently encircled our table.

I was only wishing that he suddenly dropped the tray to the floor. Or just Bella's food, at least.

It wasn't until after the waiter slipped away, that everyone unfolded their napkins and removed their eating utensils.

"Cullen," Bella's voice called from behind me, an edge of uneasiness in it, "What exactly _is_ this stuff?"

I wanted to ask her, 'Why do you still insist on calling me by my last name'? It wasn't that I wasn't fond of it. If anything, I almost worshipped the name 'Cullen'. It was my fathers, after all. But it bothered me that she called me that.

I pondered it for a while. Did I _want_ her to call me Edward? Why was I so perverse on having her call me my by first name, when I was never in the least concerned about others doing the same? Was it because it because it made _me_ feel like a fool, calling her by her first name, though she refused to call me my mine? Or anger because she never addressed anyone else by that informal title? There was the possibility that she felt it improper to call me by my first name. Or perhaps, on the other hand_, _she didn't _want _to address me like that? Because she didn't feel comfortable. Or she didn't like me….

I shook my head furiously.

Why would _I _care whether or not she liked me? As long as she was there to relieve me of my boredom, why should I care of the formal name in which she addressed me?

This train of thought brought up another valid point. Why should I care if she was eating something that would cause her to have a heart attack– – possibly– – if she knew what it was? Why was I even caring at all?

"Umm… Edward? Are you alright?" Bella asked, concerned.

'_Why was I acting like such an idiot?'_

"Yeah.. Um… so you wanted to know what you're eating?"

She nodded her head vigorously, and I laughed. But it wasn't the booming laugh that had exploded from me before. It was flat. Guilty.

"Don't be nervous," I said in between culpable, fake chuckles, "it's meat and vegetables, basically." There. It wasn't as if I were lying.

I nearly broke a sweat at the incredulous look she cast in at me. '_Why was I feeling like this?'_

"Then what's this?" she pointed at the _Motsunabe_, "and why aren't _you_ eating it?"

She was as observant as ever.

"You see that green stuff flavored all over the meat," I said, pointing at the obvious layer of green that was sprinkled everywhere, "that's mixed with leeks."

She waited. Her expression clearly said 'So what?'

"I'm deathly allergic to leeks."

'_That was a good response',_

_I thought to myself, as her chest heaved up and her mouth formed a round "O". _

'_Maybe she wouldn't want to eat it after that?'_

"I mean, if you don't want to eat it now…" I implied, my tone hopeful.

"No, that's fine." Bella snapped, tearing her eyes away from me and back at her food.

I watched from the corner of my eye as she stuck her silver fork into the center of the _Motsunabe_, stabbing it into a thick piece of meat. She stared at it for a while, studying it with cautious eyes, and then popped it into her mouth.

'_Crap.'_

The sight of her chewing didn't sit well with me.

As I watched her chew with uncertainty, a knot formed in my stomach.

Once again, I felt _guilty. 'Why?_" I nearly snapped at myself, trying to ignore the irritating pang in my stomach. I was supposed to find it funny. Hilarious, even, at the sight of her eating cow intestines. A prank, on my part, to tease her again.

I initially planned to let her eat at least half of it, and then finally spill the beans that _Motsunabe_ was something much _more _than just meat. That was the plan, anyways.

I was almost as shocked as she was when my hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from popping in another piece of it.

"What are you doing?" She asked, confused.

'_Really, what_

_was _

_I doing?'_

"U-um…." I stammered, trying to find some excuse to stop her from eating my guilt. I was fully aware of both Alice and Jasper's eyes on me. _'You're such an idiot, Edward!" _I snapped mentally.

"You really shouldn't eat that."

And the words were out before I could stop them.

Bella's eyes bulged open in horror, and her eyes made a terrified glance between me, and the food on her fork.

"W-what… do you mean?" Her voice was soft, shaky with nervousness.

I gulped.

"A fly…" I lied, quickly, using the first thing that came to mind, "just landed on that food."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, and closed her eyes.

"Oh, was that all?" she asked, apparently worn out.

'_Was she serious?'_

"Umm… can you let go of me, now?" She asked, her eyes focused on the hand that was gripping her wrist.

"Are you still going to eat it?" I asked, disbelieving.

She started at me as if there were nothing wrong in doing so.

"Do you know all the different kinds of bacteria one little fly could carry? How many diseases?"

Bella's eyes turned hard, and she spat, "So what's it to _you?_ I'm not a child; Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!"

I was almost furious at her. My eyes narrowed and I could feel the heat welling up within me. And here I was trying to warn her…

"Look, just don't eat it!" I snapped, tightening my hold on her.

"No," she returned the tone, but her voice remained quiet "And get your hands the hell of me!"

"Not until you say that you wont eat it."

"No."

I groaned, desperately, and whispered, "You really shouldn't eat that. Why wont you listen to me?"

She rolled her eyes, and made an attempt to pull her arm away, "I'll do whatever I want and if you want me to stop eating it you'll have to find me a _damn_ good excuse not to!"

When I opened my mouth to argue, she snarled, "Something better than a fly!"

"Why are you being so pig-headed? Just stop eating the damn thing!"

"No!"

Though our heated exchange was a fevered one, it was quiet. I prayed the volume would remain that way, as well.

"Damn it, Bella, just listen to me!"

"Damn it, _Cullen,_ I refuse!"

"Ugh! That's why I _hate_ girls like you! Just throw the damn dish out!"

"Make me, you ass!" She nearly yelled.

My hopes of a quiet argument shattered at her current volume. I, in turn, grew loud.

"Bella, don't make me– – "

"Make you _what_?"

"You're pissing me the hell off, woman! Just don't fucking eat the meal!"

"Why the _fuck_ not?"

"Just _don't_."

"Why the hell not?" she repeated, darkly.

"Because it's fucking cow intestines, that's why!"

Both of our eyes popped open at the same time.

I slowly released the grip on her wrist, and watched as the fork in her hand dropped to the table with a _clank. _Tiny pieces of food splattered over her dress, but she didn't appear to have noticed.

Bella sat there, frozen, as if her mind could not…._would_ not process correctly after the sudden news.

"Bella…?" My voice was soft. Concerned. Slightly afraid.

When I grabbed the napkin that was placed beside my own meal, and made an attempt to wipe the bits of green and orange from her dress, Bella shook her head at me, and then clamped her hand over mouth fiercely.

I watched in horror as she bolted up. Kicking her shoes off, she sprinted away in the direction of the bathroom. Or so I hoped… was the bathroom.

I stared after her figure until it had completely merged with the crowd; disappearing from my line of sight.

"Ugh!" I groaned to myself, miserably, dropping my face into one of my hands, and running my fingers through my hair with the other one.

'_And that's why I told her not to eat the damn thing!'_

_I moaned to myself, disgustedly._

I peaked through my fingers to see Alice and Jasper staring at me in wide-eyed bewilderment, their mouths open wide enough to fit a handball inside.

I tightened my fingers shut and groaned again.

This was definitely the worst.

And in more ways than one.


	6. Jacob?

_**Bella.**_

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I looked an absolute mess. If I had been one to seriously care about my appearance, I would have suffered a heart attack at the sight of me. But it was something else that was making me anxious. I could have left myself like this; with strands of loose hairs everywhere, pale, draught skin and red eyes– – and left the bathroom with a wrinkled dress and nauseated expression. But that would only cause attention to myself.

I would not have that.

I made a desperate attempt to fix my hair using the only items I had on me; My hands and water. It would have been smart to have at least grabbed my purse before I left the table, but I was too preoccupied with _not_ throwing up.

And it was all Cullen's fault.

The eyes of the girl in the mirror, standing before me, narrowed in disgust. If I had ever regretted anything in my life, it did not amount to how much I regret allowing Edward to accompany me.

Hot tears formed in my eyes, but were quickly washed away when I splashed my face with water from the sink. Even with my hair slightly more tidy, and my face a tad bit cleaner, I still looked a mess. I looked exactly like a person who had been removing all traces of food, including cow intestines– – I winced at the words– – from their systems.

Sighing, I dabbed my face with a paper towel and tried to smooth my dress. It was putting up a difficult fight. Wherever my hands pressed over to flatten, crinkled back out when I turned my attention to another crease. But the wretched folds were stubborn, and they refused to be settled.

'_A lot like Cullen.'_

_I thought bitterly._

I peaked into the mirror one final time to assure myself that I looked at least partially decent, and headed out of the bathroom, barefoot as I had come.

I wanted to die whenever a guest or waiter noticed my bare-footedness. It was mortifying; and Cullen was the one to cause it all.

I was angry at him, furious even. However, I was also, peculiarly, hurt.

Cullen was a jerk, yes, but I had never expected him to take his truculence so far. To laugh at ones misfortune was a different matter from _causing_ it. We had only known each other for two weeks, and what a bothersome two weeks they were, but never did I consider him the type of person who would humiliate someone else, especially in the company of friends. Though it wasn't by much, I had finally begun to think he wasn't so bad.

I felt like an complete idiot for trying to believe that.

I wanted to cry; from the embarrassment, from the betrayal, and from the regret. I refused to let even a single tear drop. I would never cry for that guy– – for both him and his infuriating actions. He just wasn't worth it. I wouldn't let him be.

I made a desperate attempt to block out the stares and whispers of the people around me. If there was even the slightest chance that I would not break down and cry in the middle of the restaurant, this was it. My eyes focused only before me, and my ears tried to turn deaf to all noise; tuning out anything that would disrupt my perseverance. I would make it to the table in once piece. I couldn't be so weak.

Despite my mental struggle to make it to the table, my body did a complete one-eighty when I had finally reached the golden statue that had previously tore a large hole in my purse– – standing a little over a yard from where Alice and Jasper sat. From where _he _sat.

I stared at his profile, and watched as he breathed a deep sigh into his hands. That itself, was surprising. I was expecting him to be dying of laughter by the time I came back.

In recognition of my noticeable stare, Cullen's head flew up and turned in my direction. A silent gasp broke from my still lips, and I could almost feel my body stiffen involuntary. Before I knew it, my body had turned on its heels and spun around, turning my back on him. I didn't have control of it. Like a defensive reflex, I recoiled from him. From him, and from whatever he was doing to my rapid-beating heart.

I was almost four yards away when I heard someone call, "Bella", softly from behind me.

Without thinking, I froze in my tracks. _How did he get so close? Had he even been following me?_ I hadn't even been running and I felt like I would break into a sweat at any moment.

"Bella," his musical voice called again. I cringed from it.

I didn't think I was capable of it. My voice felt so dry that the mere _thought _of speaking seemed almost painful. Impossible. But it was not impossible, and my voice– – though hoarse– – responded to him, even without my mental consent.

"What?" I snapped, unaware and completely oblivious to the people around me. For someone who hated attention, I wasn't doing so badly; considering that I was the object of it right now.

"I'm sorry," I stiffened at his sudden apology, and my eyes opened wide, "I'm _so_ sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry."

His tone was edged with traces of remorse and guilt. Of sorrow. Could he have been serious? Was his apology honest? His voice was sincere with regret, but I wouldn't listen. I refused to listen. I tried to believe him before and look where it got me; Standing in the middle of a restaurant bare-foot, looking like I just barely survived an nuclear attack.

I ignored him. My back never turned around to face him, and my eyes never closed, or even blinked, from the strain.

"Bella, please…" Cullen continued, his voice almost begging. I swallowed hard. "Wont you listen to me for even a second? That's all I'm asking for. Please?"

'_A_

_second?' 'All he's asking for?' Like he had the right to ask a request of me? I wanted nothing more than to walk away from him, leaving his sorry ass there to apologize– – if that was what he was really doing. It would be simple; I would go to work, inform my boss that I would leave the agency if he wasn't removed from my sight, from my care. If he rejected my demands, I would leave. I was an adequate worker; I could easily find work somewhere else. I would even go to work in China! Anything to be away from him._

It would be easy. That was all I had to do. And yet, I couldn't stop myself from wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Bella…?" Cullen cautioned at my sudden movement. I nodded, deeply, but never turned to face him. I didn't want to look at him. His face was not what I wanted to see. So, if that were the case, why did I want to hear him out so badly?

After I nodded once, I swiftly walked away, in the direction of the spiral stairs. The fact that I was devastatingly clumsy slipped my mind, and I stomped up the stairs without incident. Maybe God had mercy on me, after all.

I didn't hear Cullen behind me, his footsteps were even softer than I could ever remember, but somehow, I knew he was there. I never looked back once since the time I agreed to hear him out. And though he was silent as the wind, I knew he was following me. When I finally made it to the very top, it took every ounce of control I had to _not_ turn around and push him down. It wouldn't make things right, of course, but it would make me feel better. That, at least, counted for something.

I was still aware of Cullen walking behind me when I reached the main entrance. I allowed my anger to push me forward, so that I could not be distracted by the fact that I was still shoe-less when I walked outside. I felt stupid for not grabbing my shoes when I had the chance. Why did it always feel that I made things worse in complicated situations? Not that I had many before Cullen entered the picture.

Walking as proudly as I could, I headed to the main desk at the entrance, and called out, "Excuse me, sir," to the man in the blue and green uniform.

I watched, fighting my embarrassment the whole time, as he glanced down at my bare feet and wrinkled dress. He must have thought that I was some restaurant-crasher or something.

"What may I help you with, ma'am?" He asked kindly, trying to hide his astonishment.

I gave him my best smile– – hoping that it was even a smile at all– – and said, "My name is Bella Swan, and I had a reservation for today. There was a little…._accident– – " _He cocked his brow at me and his eyes flickered to my messy dress and, once again, at my bare toes, "– – so I will be stepping out for a bit. Would you be so kind as to send a message to my company at table twelve that I will be returning shortly?"

He stared at me for a moment, and then nodded.

I almost sighed in relief.

"Bella Swan, was it," he asked as he jotted my name in a large, yellow book, "and the man behind you is…?"

I scowled as I said, "Edward Cullen." My throat felt like I had just shoved a hot iron inside it when I said his name.

"Very well," the man assured me, his expression startled by my sudden change in attitude. "They will receive the message shortly. You will be allowed entry upon your return."

"Thank you." I tried to smile, but I knew it was a wasted effort. I was sure that the man thought I was grimacing or something.

Without turning around, I left the restaurant. Now that I was more angry than embarrassed, even though it was just by a notch, I was able to almost completely ignore the people around me. Even the valet who had been so infatuated with me earlier, looked at me like I had just survived a plane crash. I almost snorted when he brought my car to me, and dropped the keys into my hand, making sure not to touch me directly, or look me in the eye.

"Thanks," I muttered darkly at the young man. He nodded gravely, and left quickly. The sound of him gulping did not get past me. Did I really look so bad?

I opened the car door and slid myself in the drivers seat. There was nothing that I wanted more than to just kick the engine and speed my way home. I wanted to, but I didn't, because I wanted to hear Cullen out– – even if the reasons for that was unknown to me.

"Are you getting in?" I asked, sourly, still refusing to look at him.

Cullen sighed deeply before rounding the car, and hopped in. Once the sound of the passengers door parallel to mine shut close, I pressed my bare foot sharply on the pedal and sped straight ahead. I kept on driving, fully aware of where I was headed. I needed an empty place where I could park the car. Some place where– – if worse comes to worse– – – I would not get caught murdering him. Of course, that thought was applied to me as well, but I would take my chances.

I drove quickly, focusing intently on the road before me. There weren't many people, but it prevented me from falling under the pressure of his stare; which I had already started to do. It was uncomfortable; him watching me. It made my heart beat faster. Before my mind would go anywhere dangerous, I convinced myself that it was because I was angry. That was true, after all.

I pulled over and stopped the car in the middle of a dirt road behind an umbrella factory. It was empty enough that if I had a screaming fit, or I killed Cullen– – either one, no one would notice. Perfect.

Though the car had stopped nearly five minutes ago, Cullen had not said a word. My patience was at it's limit. I was already thinking of grabbing a crowbar from the back of the trunk and beating him to death. He would surely talk then.

"Bella," His voice suddenly called.

I could do nothing to stop the overwhelming feeling of discomfort in my chest. It was as if I was choking– – caught between my anger and sadness. I knew that the sadness was derived from the betrayal I felt, but why I felt betrayed in the first place was beyond me. It wasn't as if I had been anticipating his well-behavior. I wasn't that stupid. But I didn't expect him to be such a jerk, either, and that _was_ senseless of me.

"Bella," once again, I felt as if something washed over me at the sound of my name being called, "I truly am sorry. I really am."

"Why should I believe you?" I snapped, blackly. "You haven't given me any reason to do so." I was still at a loss as to _why_ I was even here, listening to Cullen's phony apology. If I was smart, I would have just left the guy in the restaurant and done what I had originally planned to do. Not only had he humiliated me but, but he was also the reason why I was doubting my intelligence and sanity. Great.

"I know," he started, his tone desperate, "Bella, wont you please just look at me?"

I snorted aloud. Even with that poor attempt of humor, I knew that it was because I couldn't afford to look at him. His face… his _eyes_ were dangerous. I didn't know exactly why, but I felt that they were. I wouldn't risk myself falling into whatever ruse he was playing at.

"Please, Bella?"

That one nearly got me. I flinched, but forced my head to remain facing ahead.

And when the warm feel of flesh touched my cheek, I gasped aloud. Cullen's hand cupped my face, and turned it– – ever so softly– – to face him.

That's when I remembered why his face was so dangerous.

I was momentarily dazzled by his beauty– – literally. Although the car was indeed dark, his features were almost completely visible. His deep, hazel eyes bore into mine, and I couldn't look away. His eye brows were pulled together, and a mixture of both worry and nervousness crossed his face. Once again, it was not an expression that I was expecting, or prepared to see.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. Wont you let me explain?"

I found myself nodding before I even realized it.

Cullen continued to stare into my eyes, before his hand fell from my face. Before he opened his mouth to speak, he inhaled deeply from his nose and exhaled sharply from his slightly open mouth. He sighed, and then spoke.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. What happened… was… well, I don't even know, to be honest– – " I raised my eyebrows incredulously, and he continued, "– – What I did… was horrible. I've never regretted anything before as much as I regret what I did tonight. I pulled a…_prank,_ on you… but it wasn't with the intention of hurting you. It was for fun, or so I thought it was. It was the response to the uneasiness that you cause me. I can't even explain it, really. I didn't ask to accompany you to cause you humiliation. Of course, enjoying it at your own expense is another matter, but never expected myself to be the cause of it. It was really a spur of a moment thing, not that that justifies it.

"You see… I _panicked._ I initially came with the intention of keeping myself entertained. I was prepared to come and just enjoy myself; at the sight of your reactions and such. But something changed. I'm not really sure what, but something did, and what I did… was the cause of that change."

Cullen looked completely stressed, as if he, too, were trying to figure everything out. I had no clue what he was talking about, and how it even related to an apology. I just listened as he spoke, completely fallen under the intensity of his stare.

"Even though I did it with a foul motive, I was still uncertain. My uncertainty soon changed into guilt, and that soon changed into regret. Every second that passed was spent wishing on our waiters' misfortune: That he would fall and drop your food, that he would bump into someone and the tray would go flying…you get what I mean. And then when he came, I almost wanted to die. I thought of letting you eat it, and never mentioning it to you. It would have been better that way, for the both of us. But I couldn't. Before I knew it, my hand had grabbed yours in an attempt to stop you. More than the guilt of doing something so cruel, was the horror of seeing you eat something like that. I couldn't stand it.

"I tried to stop you, but you wouldn't listen. For anybody else, I would have just said 'screw it' and let them eat the damn thing. Not that I would have probably regretted it, since I rarely do things that I regret. But I couldn't _not_ stop you. I didn't want to see you eat it. I _couldn't _see you eat it. Before I knew it, I _wanted _to protect you. Even if it was from something that I, myself, caused, I didn't want to see you get hurt. To see you get humiliated. I snapped, only because of your own stubbornness. It frustrated me, that you wouldn't believe me; not that you had any reason to, in the first place, of course. But it still made me angry. And when you ran off like you did, looking so fragile… I thought I would _die."_

Cullen's face moved closer to my own, and continued to penetrate me; never faltering for even a second. If I hadn't known any better, I wouldn't have thought he even blinked since he had started speaking. When our faces were nearly inches apart, he spoke again, his breath sweetly blowing into my face.

"Bella, I am really sorry. I swear that I will never do anything like that again– – not that I could, anyways. Even if I have to work to gain your trust once more, I will do it. And it isn't for the sole purpose of easing my guilt, either, but because I _want_ to. I want you to trust me, even if I have to earn it, first. That being said, wont you forgive me?"

If I had been breathing that entire time, I was unaware of it. To be honest, I didn't know _what_ to do. I wanted, more than anything, to believe him– – though I couldn't comprehend why, but I also didn't want to. If he were to lie, and trick me again, I was unsure if my heart would be able to take it– – though that, too, was obscurely questionable. I couldn't determine why my heart would not be able to take it , but I had a feeling that it just wouldn't.

No matter how genuine his pleading eyes appeared to be, I couldn't trust him. He would have to earn that, along with the feelings of friendship that were just beginning to blossom before he ruined it. Because, for some odd, unknown reason, I wanted to be friends with him. Even if he was a jerk– – more so today than any other day, I really did want to get close to him. Though, I would never admit it to him.

"Fine," I finally managed to say, despite the throbbing in my chest and the hoarseness of my throat, "I'll forgive you, Cullen. But that doesn't mean that I trust you."

And like the sun breaking free from the early-morning clouds, Cullen's lips pulled into the brightest of smiles. I nearly flinched back from the luminosity of it. If I thought that he was dazzling before, he was beyond that now. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't even consider him human. No human could look as beautiful as he was. As perfect as him. Even if I had wanted to, I don't think I would ever be able to look away. Like butterflies falling victim to the warmness of light, disregarding the flames, I was caught. And, to be honest, I didn't want to escape.

"Bella, thank you." Edward breathed, his sweet smell once again washing over my face. His hand moved back to cup the side of my face, and I almost closed my eyes from the delighted feeling of him touching me so tenderly.

"Edward…" I breathed back, closing the space between us ever-so-slightly. I couldn't think, and I didn't want to. If I had been so utterly angry at him only minutes before, it didn't matter. The only thing I could concentrate was his eyes, his liquid iris's that were smoldering me, pulling me into whatever sea he was in. His eyes, and his lips, that were only inches away from mine. His perfect, pink lips…

And as he pulled himself into me, and our lips brushed together, I felt a shiver of irrevocable pleasure run through me. Edward pulled back, and our connection was cut. If he hadn't spoken, I would have reached out and grabbed him to me. I didn't want him to move away. I didn't want to be separated.

"That's," he said, smiling crookedly, brilliantly, "the first time you called me by my first name, Bella."

I started to tremble as his fingers brushed over my bottom lip, and then the top. My lips parted under his hand. I wanted him to kiss me again. So badly, I wanted his mouth on mine. Without thinking, I shot forward, ignoring the bounds made by my safety belt, and pressed my lips against him again, only harder. The scent of him was almost intoxicating. I was becoming intoxicated by him, and I didn't mind it at all.

Edward, clearly shocked, smiled at my sudden bold outburst of passion. He pushed himself closer to me, and held the nape of my neck with his hand. I shivered again, when he ran his fingers from the tip of my earlobe, down to my shoulder blade; trailing it softly.

"Ed..ward…" I nearly panted, impatiently trying to remove the stupid seat belt that was binding me. That was keeping me from him. Edward sucked on my bottom lip fiercely, and I gasped. On the odd day that I decided to use the darn belt, it just _had_ to be today! Why wasn't this thing coming off? And where were the scissors when I needed them?

Edward chuckled humorously at my effortless struggle, and I scowled. Why did it always seem like he was making fun of me? My new expression seemed to please him, and he laughed slightly louder, saying, "You are so cute, Bella…"

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, and Edward touched the area that burned most ferociously. I guess he liked the sight of me blushing.

I waited– – eagerly, impatiently– – as he tried to unclasp the seat belt. It gave him some trouble as well, but soon enough, it had come undone. Everything was perfect now. There was nothing holding me back. I could touch him as much as I wanted to….

As soon as it was released completely from off my body, I pulled my arm around Edwards light brown, messy hair, and pulled him closer to me as my fingers entwined inside his soft locks. Even his hair seemed perfect.

"Bella," he cooed, positioning his mouth to fall onto mine. We were nearly there, barely an inch away from the hot, passionate kisses that were now possible due to the freedom of movement that I gained. We were nearly a centimeter apart, when a sudden loud buzzing vibrated from the compartment beside the steering wheel, causing us both to jump in alarm.

And with the sound came reality, and the realization of my actions. I was so, forcefully, pulled back from the pleasant dream-like state I was in, and brought back to the situation. The situation where I had just been kissing my model, just after he had infuriatingly humiliated me. _'Yes, nice going, Bella. Skip the forgiveness part and make out with the guy who fed you cow guts!_' My mental conscious scolded, sarcastically.

I pushed myself away from Edward, and looked away. What the heck had just happened? What had I just done? I wondered if a person in a coma felt like this once they woke up.

We sat there for a minute, until I finally decided to open the compartment in front of me and take out the phone that still continued to vibrate. Without looking at Edward, though he was obviously staring at me, I flipped it open– – forgetting to check on the sender– – and read the text-message that someone had just sent me.

The phone fell from my hands as my mouth dropped open. This was definitely the worst. No, it was more than that. This was hell. And if I hadn't been feeling the heat of the flames earlier, well, I was surely feeling it now.

"Bella?" Edward called, his voice full of concern and confusion.

I closed my eyes, and put my head in my hands, as the message flashed once again into my mind:

Bella,

Surprise! Guess who came back super early?

I'll be waiting for you at your apartment.

Try to get home soon, beautiful.

Jacob.

I moaned aloud, and buried my face even deeper into the palm of my hands. Could things have gotten any worse**? **No, I didnt think they could have.


	7. Silence

The drive back to the restaurant was tormenting.

After I received Jacobs' _surprising _news– – which was, ironically, timed to perfection, I sent him an reply text informing him that I was having dinner with Alice (which was true) and wouldn't be home until later tonight. I wasn't too keen on the idea of seeing Jacob– – the supposed man that I loved– – right after my little make-out scene with Cullen.

Could I have been any more of an idiot?

After the…_kiss_ we shared, or so I reduced it to, had ended… and I had finished replying to Jacob's message, neither I nor Cullen said one word to each other. I didn't know _what_ to say. Half the drive was spent of me thinking up implausible excuses for my actions. I considered apologizing; using inebriation as an exempt of what I did– – despite the fact that I had not consumed even the slightest bit of liquor. There was also the plea of insanity, impulsive spur-of the moment, sleep walking, and utter confusion and denial as a pretext. What else could I say? '_Yeah, Edward, I've been thinking of kissing you for a while and suddenly decided to go for it. Oh, but don't expect anything, not that you would, of course, 'cause I already have a boyfriend– – sort of'_. Yeah, that sounded just wonderful.

Aside from my own irritating self consciousness and the fact that I was dangerously near having a mental breakdown, Cullen's own silence was driving me crazy. More than ever, I was wishing that I could read minds. Or at least his.

What was he thinking about? Why did he refuse to speak? And most importantly; Why did he kiss me back? My head was spinning with all the things I wanted to ask him, but did not have the courage to voice. I nearly scoffed at my own cowardice.

Before we headed back to the restaurant, I stopped at a clothing store called "Le' Lumen". You didn't have to be a genius, or even a fashion model manager, to know that this place was expensive. But I needed some clothes and– – glancing down at my bare feet– – some shoes. I reached into the compartment of the car and retrieved a tiny, hand sized purse. I wasn't fond of using my emergency money for something like this, but I would have to. I just needed to remember to replace the money, afterwards.

I left the car without so much as a word to Edward. He was being ridiculously quiet, anyways. What need was there to tell him where I was going? Walking to the store put me in a bad mood, nonetheless. The outside clearly indicated that this was not my kind of place. The inside of the store was indeed flashy, populated by rows of designers clothing and mannequins that could shame the shoppers. Me included.

Kindly refusing the shop keeper, or I assumed she was, assistance, I marched to the dress section of the store in a hurry, and chose the first thing that struck my fancy. I decided on a long, black dress with spaghetti straps, and some black open-toe shoes with pumps shorter than two inches. Compared to my previous attire, this outfit suited me more. It was plain and dressy, with a touch of professionalism to it. Just the type of dress that Alice would disapprove of.

With the sudden remembrance of Alice came the realization that she was still at the restaurant, waiting for us. Of course, my other waiting person came into my mind as well, and I felt a tinge of guilt. How long has it been since Jacob was here, and here I was completely avoiding him? But I really didn't want to see him now. I couldn't see him. I wasn't the best liar in the world, and Jacob would definitely sense that something was wrong. He would probe into it further, being the kind of guy that he is, and I would end up shamefully admitting my wrong-doing.

And then what would I do?

There was a high possibility that Jacob would forgive me, if I used the same denying excuses that were initially intended for Edward's ears. But would he forgive me if I said that I kissed him… and liked it?

I shook my head, trying to shake away any reckless thoughts that dared to invade my mind. Of course I liked it! He was a great kisser– – I feebly admitted– – and I hadn't made out with someone in an extremely long time. My emotions were enhanced due to my long absence of intimacy with anyone. That was all there was too it.

Sighing, I paid for the dress– – with it still on me– – and left the store feeling slightly depressed. '_So much for being 'rational' and 'smart_' I thought, bitterly, as I walked over to my car. The whole issue with Cullen was putting me in a bad mood, but I was also angry that I had just spent almost three-hundred dollars on a dress, and one-hundred and fifty on a pair of shoes that I would most likely never wear for the rest of my life.

Cullen still sat in the passengers seat, head turned to stare out the window in the opposite direction of me. He had been like that since I messaged Jacob; silent, depressing, annoying.

Feeling marginally irritated, I slipped into the car hastily and shut the drivers door sharply closed. A horrifying _ripping_ noise sounded as I leaned over to pull the seat belt over me. _This couldn't be happening!_

I turned my head, slowly, and peered down at the long, fresh gash that ran from the material caught in the door, up to my calves. I was literally fuming. Why, _why _today of all days must my clumsiness decide to reach it's max? _If_ this was it's max. I was close to saying "things couldn't get any worse", until I remembered that they could– – especially since it was me– – and bit my bottom lip hard. Atheism was starting to look like an congenial idea.

"Crap..." I muttered, hostile, as I opened the door to pull the remainder of my tarnished dress inside. I was, at least, thankful that I decided on the black dress. With the dark color, and the draping seams at the bottom, I figured that it would look seemingly unnoticeable. Or at least, I hoped it would.

The door shut close, and a scowl suddenly colored my expression. I turned my head slowly, and glared at the figure beside me who was shaking with laughter, and snapped, "Is there something funny?" So Cullen could stay quiet when it's awkward, but not when it's humiliatingly inconvenient for me?

That question broke Cullen's restraint, and he suddenly burst into a roar of laughter. My scowl deepened as he wrapped his arms around his sides. I wasn't sure if his rude laughing was better than the constrained silence. If anything, I chose neither one.

"Sorry…" Cullen gasped between laughs.

Even though his current humor was at my own expense, I couldn't help but to goggle at just how handsome he was. I shook my head, furiously, and with a final word– – _"Don't" – – _I put myself back in my place.

"Are you finished, now?" I snarled, when Edward's laughs finally ceased into small chuckles.

"Yeah," he breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled his arms over his head, "I think so."

"Glad to know." I muttered, bitterly, before hitting the engine and heading towards the restaurant that was no more than a few blocks away. Well, at least the tension in the car had subsided. In all honesty, I was starting to think that Cullen laughing at me was more preferable than a quiet, arcane Cullen.

"Happy to oblige." He muttered, humorously. I rolled my eyes at him, partially for the sudden change in attitude, and turned my attention fully on the road ahead of us. We were exactly one block away from the restaurant when we had to stop for the red-light. I almost groaned exasperatedly. Alice was definitely going to kill me. That, and it felt slightly uncomfortable– – being alone with Cullen.

I didn't want to bring up the topic of our _kiss_ in any way. I was hoping, actually, that it would never be brought up again. It was a stupid mistake on my part, and I just wanted to forget about it. Hopefully, Cullen felt the same. I assumed he did, though, since he never mentioned anything to me since our…_incident._

Despite my wishes, I couldn't help but feel curious. I did want to know what he thought. How he felt. _W_hy he kissed me back. I already knew _my _reason for initiating; It was a moment-thing. It only happened because I was too caught up in the rush of having such a gorgeous person's face nearly inches away from my own. I would use that excuse until the day I died, and I was highly prepared for that. But I really wanted to know _his_ reasons for kissing me back. Was it extemporary for him as well? Not that there would be any significant meaning behind it, obviously. But still, I wanted to know.

And then there was the recollection of Cullen telling me he had a girl friend. '_Tanya'_ was her name, if I remembered correctly. That little reminder caused a flare to go off in the pit of my stomach. I questioned inwardly what was wrong with it.

"Bella," Cullen said, calling my attention. I turned my head to him slightly, remaining aware of any change of the street light a few cars ahead. He looked troubled for words, "About the…you know…um…"

I gulped. Please tell me that he wasn't going to bring up the very topic that I had just been wishing to avoid. I was starting to think that everything that came from my mouth– – or mind– – was some perplexing jinx or other.

"Listen," his brows pulled together, "I think that I… or maybe…we… er…" He sighed heavily, and ran a hand through his hair.

For someone who didn't want anything to do with discussing what happened, I was getting pretty impatient.

Cullen closed his eyes tightly, and breathed out in aggravation, "Alright, what I'm trying to say is that I think I– – "

His sentence was cut annoyingly short when the abrupt beep of a horn sounded from behind us. We both jumped, just as we did when I received Jacob's message– – I cringed at the reminder of it– – and glanced back at the angry cars behind us, then back to the vacant space ahead of us.

I, wordlessly, pressed hard on the engine and pulled my attention away from whatever Cullen had just been about to tell me, and back to driving.

I was seriously starting to believe that I was a walking magnet for bad luck and horrible timing.

_**Edward.**_

I was such an idiot.

I kept my attention fully concentrated on staring outside my window– – not that I was really looking at anything. I didn't even turn around to face Bella when she– – wordlessly, I might add– – left the car. When the door was shut close, and a few seconds had passed, I turned around and watched as she walked towards some obviously-expensive clothing store.

_That's right,_

_I remembered, _

_she needed some clothes… and shoes. _

When Bella entered the store, I breathed what was probably the largest sigh I had ever made. An hours worth of tension was released with one exhaled breath, and yet, it was nowhere near enough.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Pushing my face in my hands, I groaned lamentingly. Things could not have gotten any worse. I kissed her, for crying out loud! I kissed my agent; and this time my actions were not– – and nowhere near– – caused by the want to tease her. It was honest; and that was what bothered me the most.

It inevitable to deny now; I was starting to like Bella.

I must have been the largest idiot in the world.

I groaned again, and my hand, involuntarily, moved to my face so I could pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers– – a habit that I inherited from my biological mother, Elizabeth. It was bad enough that I already had a girlfriend, not that I loved her very much. But that wasn't the point. I had a girlfriend, and this was Bella for chrissake! Bella; the vulgar, abusive, tomboyish woman who wouldn't hesitate to pull a punch on her own model. I was starting to believe that I was a masochist after all.

It wasn't that she wasn't pretty; if anything, I found her to be quite beautiful– – despite her lack of personal style. But she just wasn't my type! I liked fun, gorgeous girls who were capable of dressing incredibly sexy and who knew how to have fun. I didn't like women who were plain, homely, unfashionable, short tempered and bookworm-ish. And that _was _Bella.

"This cannot be happening," I muttered in my hands. My mind thought of possible reasons for my sudden attraction to her, but none of them were logical. It was impossible to fall for a person just because they held the ability to make you laugh, when barely anyone else could. That prospect itself was unfathomable. It just didn't make any sense. If that were the case, I could have easily fallen for my brothers' humorous friend, Leah. Though she wasn't as hysterical as Bella was, she did make me laugh on occasion.

Even while I thought this, I knew that they weren't the same. I was comfortable when I was with Bella. She was smart, and pretty… as well as dangerously clumsy. That was a definite bonus. The way she talked, her angry expressions, her sudden smiles– – I knew that was what I really liked about her, but I couldn't bring myself to fully admit it.

And then there was the bigger problem to think about: What was I going to do about my sudden realization? It wasn't as if I was single, and I didn't really feel like going to the trouble of breaking up with Tanya– – I shuddered at the thought. My girlfriend _played_ the gentle, sensitive part, but I wasn't a moron. Tanya seemed exactly like the type of girl who would burn down someone's house while they were sleeping, to exact her revenge. I could break up with her, but did that suggest I liked Bella more? Did I like her even more than the person I had been dating for the past two years? It wasn't that I was in love with Tanya, but I did hold feelings for her. It was impossible _not_ to, being together for so long. So, was I willing to end it with her, and give Bella a chance?

There was also Bella's feelings and current status to consider. I was handsome, smart, and rich– – regardless my brazen personality. There weren't many girls who would, or rather, _could_, refuse me. But I was aware that Bella wasn't like many of those girls. She wasn't a cougar, either. I faintly remembered her mentioning that she did not date younger men– – let alone co-workers. And there was also the question of whether or not she was in a relationship…

I nearly snorted aloud. I doubted _that_. She never dressed to impress– – in any way, shape or form– – and worked from early mornings to late night. If she wasn't in her office, filling out an abundance of papers and forms while making hasty phone calls, she was running around with her other models, booking gigs and setting up jobs. Even if she had a guy, which I still doubted– – and in turn, mocked my own personal taste– – it was evident that he would have broken up with her already. What guy would want a girl who never had time to meet him?

I pushed the possibility of there being a boyfriend aside, and contemplated on how she could possibly feel about me. This time, I really did snort aloud.

It was obvious, and I felt like a complete idiot for realizing it. I made fun of her, teased her, laughed at her expense, joked about her clumsiness, tricked her into eating cow intestines…if Bella felt anything for me at all, it would be spite or irritation. And if not, then it was _she _who were the masochist.

I was hoping on the latter of the two observations. There wasn't a chance in hell that she could like me… she never even called me by my first name!

"Wait," I muttered to myself, sitting up straight and staring wondrously at my hands. '_But she _did_ call me by my first name!'_

My mind though back on the kiss we shared, and I recalled her saying my name. Calling me 'Edward'. Did that mean that she was starting to feel attracted to me as well? Or at least comfortable? Even after all I put her through during dinner, she herself surpassed the previous standing of our relationship by calling me by my first name.

I smiled at the thought.

I thought about the kiss, and my grin grew even wider. Before I had only thought about it in a negative light, regretting it completely. But after realizing how I felt– – at least on some level– – I remembered that it felt amazing. Having her lips on mine, her holding me tighter in passion; it couldn't be possible that it was only a "spur-of-the-moment" kind of thing. Though, I was the one who initiated the kiss, she not only gave in, but demanded for more at some point.

I was almost beaming now. I felt almost ridiculous at how happy I was getting.

So she _did_ like me, at least a little. That had to be the case. And her awkward silence after she received the message– – which I was still, peculiarly, curious about– – must have been from her embarrassment, and not because she was horrified, or even angry, about what happened.

I knew I was being overly optimistic, and that I shouldn't assume, but I was far too happy to be a pessimist. I almost laughed aloud at how excited I felt. Before now, I had never experienced any feelings of really wanting to date a woman. I never held a desire for someone to like me, since it was rather rare I fancied someone, myself. Did that mean that I liked her more than I currently thought? I was in complete awe of my present self.

Even my actions were becoming foreign since I met Bella. Wanting to apologize, and committing to it? Feeling guilt and regret? Those feelings were new to me. There was no one who I had ever felt bad for hurting, since I always acted on whatever I felt. Even sitting in the passengers seat, letting a woman drive me was new. I was brought up as a gentleman, and though I didn't act like it at times– – especially when Bella was concerned– – my manners and attitude towards women had always been deeply rooted by my upbringing. The fact that I was allowing someone else to drive me was odd enough…

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a cool draft wash over me. Without turning my head much, I looked over to see Bella sliding back into the drivers seat. I felt the heat rise to my face, and I turned my head back to the window. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Bella never turned her head to look at me, but I watched her reflection from the glass. The dress she wore earlier was better, in my opinion, but the classic black dress that she chose was quite breathtaking. Oddly enough, the simplicity of it suited her.

I wanted to tell Bella what I thought of her choice of ensemble. I wanted to tell her that I thought she looked absolutely stunning, and I nearly did… before I heard a sudden _ripping_ sound.

Looking at her expression from her reflection in the window, I watched as her eyes opened wide in horrified disbelief. I shut my mouth into a tight line, and forced myself to behave. To believe that this was, in no way, ironically hilarious. That I did not find any humor in the fact that she was the most clumsiest, unlucky girl in the universe– – but my restrain was cut short when I heard her say, "crap", in an expectant groan.

I, like the idiot I was, started to laugh. Even knowing that I was digging my own grave, and that Bella was glaring at me in irritation, I couldn't stop myself. The look on her face, as if things couldn't imaginably have gotten worse, was too classic. And then her tone when she asked if there was something funny– – it made me laugh even harder. This was definitely one of the reasons why I liked her.

"Are you finished?" She asked me, bitterly. I somehow managed to control myself to light chuckles, and tried to assure her that I was, but even my apology was deluded in humor.

"Yeah, I think so." I told her, with a heavy smile.

"Glad to know," she retorted, sourly.

I almost started laughing again at her annoyed tone, "Happy to oblige."

And with that final comment, everything went silent between us again. At least she said something to me. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been much worse if she refused to speak. But since she hadn't, I was going to return to my previous assumption that she didn't hate me. _Or_ dislike what happened between us.

I felt a sudden impulse to talk to her. To ask her how she felt about the kiss. To question her intention by returning it. I wanted to tell her what I thought. How _I _felt. To let her know that I was starting to like her. To see what she felt about me. The fact that I was beginning to act like a love-struck teenaged idiot registered nothing in my head.

"About the… you know… um…"

I thought the words in my head easily. I was going to say them promptly: _"What did you think about the kiss? Do you like me? Because I think I'm starting to like you, myself."_

However, my words were a completely different matter from my thoughts.

"I think that I.. or… maybe…we….er…"

What the hell was the matter with me? Never before had I ever had a problem with saying anything. If I wanted something, I asked for it. If I didn't, or did, like something, I said it. So why were my words coming out in stupid stutters?

I ran my fingers through my hair, and nearly hissed in aggravation. This wasn't like me at all. I felt like I was having an anxiety attack. That, or a nervous breakdown.

I breathed in deeply, and forced myself to say what I was thinking, "Alright, what I'm trying to say is that I think I– – " _Like you._

But my words were interrupted by a loud, alarming honk coming from behind us. Bella and I glanced back, and then she returned her attention back to the road ahead of us. I gritted my teeth together and palled my hands into fists to prevent me from breaking the glass window.

'_That's what you get for acting like a nitwit, you stupid dolt,'_

_I insulted myself, bitterly._

Sighing a final time, I relaxed from my stiff, rigid form and slumped back into my seat, turning my head to face the window. I let the thought of having all night comfort my seething irritation.

I will definitely talk to her tonight.


	8. dinner part 2

**Edward.**

"I'm really sorry for making you wait so long, guys," Bella apologized, her voice sincere.

We stood before both Alice and Jasper who–– by the looks of it–– had already finished eating, and Bella apologized again, "I'm really, _really_ sorry!"

Alice stared at the both of us skeptically, then lowered her eyebrows as her lips pulled up into a reassuring smirk, "No harm done. We ate without you guys, so it's even."

Bella dropped her head and murmured, "Sorry", a final time before pulling out her previous seat. I followed suit, and sat next to her.

"Are you guys still hungry?" Jasper asked, staring at the full plates of food in front of us.

"No, I've lost my appetite." I told him, honestly.

"As have I," Bella smiled, her expression fierce. I bit my lip so that I wouldn't smile. Even if she did forgive me, I guess it was natural that she still harbored bitter feelings towards me regarding what I did. I would have to accept that. She was absurdly stubborn, after all.

"So," Alice started, "where did you guys go?"

I looked up to see her eyeing me incredulously, scrutinizing my face. Why did it always seem as if she was putting me on the spot?

I had forgotten just how uneasy she made me feel sometimes, until I was forced to be in her presence again. "Just a little shopping," Bella responded to her inquiry. I was surprised at how defensive her tone was.

"I can tell!" Alice turned her attention back from me onto her friend. Her eyes narrowed in disapproval, "Aren't we best friends? Don't you love me?"

Bella's eyes probed open at Alice's sudden accusation.

"Of course I do, Alice! What brought this on?"

Alice continued to stare at Bella, an expression of disappointment and irritation on her face, and said, "Liar. You went shopping without me."

Bella rolled her eyes at her friends childish behavior, and retorted,

"If I asked you to come along, we would have never come back."

"Is that why you asked Edward?"

My head shot up, startled, as my name was suddenly pulled into the conversation. What was this pixie-chick thinking? It was obvious that I had followed after Bella in her attempt to escape from me. Not only that, but Alice was fully aware of the prank I played on Bella. No one could be that oblivious; It had happened right in front of her face.

If anything, I was more bothered with the fact that she was not angry with me. Bella was, or so she claimed, her best friend, after all. And yet here she sat–– here we sat–– acting as if nothing had even happened.

"I didn't ask Cullen to do anything," Bella snapped, "He came all on his own, so…"

But by that time, I was unable to hear the rest of Bella's argument and Alice's assessments. My mind had frozen on the one devastating word that had come from Bella's mouth; Cullen.

'I must have misheard her,' I tried to assure myself, frowning. That was the only logical explanation. Why would she retreat back to the title she just previously addressed me as? It was not a misapprehension that she called me 'Edward', just little while ago. I know I had not misheard _that_.

I frowned again, as my mind wandered; thinking over the reasons and possibilities of her calling me 'Cullen'. If she had, then why?

I snapped out of my sudden train of thought, when I heard someone's cell ring. Even with the piercing sound of musical beeping, both Alice and Bella still continued their argument––too preoccupied to hear it ring–– despite the fact that it was loud as hell.

"Um… Bella," It was Jasper who took the initiative of getting their attention, "I think your phone's ringing."

Bella looked at him like he was speaking some foreign language or other, and I silently snickered at how bewilderingly absentminded she was. The difference in her character from when she was at work to now, surrounded by friends, was extremely laughable. I bit my lip so the snicker wouldn't raise in volume by even the slightest margin.

"Oh!" she suddenly gasped, and hastily grabbed her purse. I watched, biting back a chuckle, when her brow furrowed impatiently as she tried to wrestle the bag open. She somehow managed to tear the zipper open, and fished a hand inside to retrieve the phone that she had stuffed in when we first returned to the table.

"Crap," she breathed, instantly flipping the phone open and placing it over her ear, "Hello?"

And then her face did the strangest thing. An expression of shock covered it, and then it seemed as if nervousness had taken over. By the time her 'expression-slide' had ended, she look oddly…stressed.

"Jake… hold on a second, please," Before I could control myself, my head snapped in her direction and I felt my eyebrows crease from my forehead. _Jake_?

"Umm…," Bella quickly looked from me, and then to Alice, and said, "I'll be back in a second. Sorry 'bout this."

I turned to Alice to see that she was now frowning, and then her head dropped as a "go ahead" sigh escaped her. _So… who the hell was Jake?_

Bella shot up from her seat quickly, and nearly sprinted in the direction of the woman's restroom. I don't think the frown ever left my face.

"You look like you want to ask something." I heard Alice say. My frown deepened, and I looked at her. Once again, her eyes were piercing mine. Holding me.

"Not really," I tried to seem nonchalant, but the tightness of my voice was undeniable–– and I knew it didn't escape her notice. I was curious about the guy who was calling Bella's cell phone, and I would have left it at that, if not for Alice's sudden strange behavior which made me grow all the more suspicious.

"Hmm… Really?" She started, her eyes never leaving mine, "I assumed since she was your manager, and since you guys work so closely together, that you would be interested in who she was dating. Guess not." Alice shrugged her shoulders, as if she couldn't care less.

I, on the other hand, was frozen. _Boyfriend_?

"Alice!" I barely heard Jasper hiss at her. It was a hiss, but it lacked the angry authority needed to make it sound threatening, or even slightly strict. It sounded more urgent, as if he were warning her to behave–– or keep her mouth shut.

"Boyfriend," I asked her quietly, leaning in closer. I felt the warmth slowly start to drain from my body, and I almost gulped, "Bella has a…boyfriend?" My words sounded completely shocked, for which I completely was. Alice, however, did not show even a margin of fury or irritation at my rude disbelief that her friend could have a guy. That, or she knew full well that I was starting to boil inside, from something that I assumed was jealousy. But that was impossible. She wasn't a psychic. Even I didn't know about my feelings until just recently.

"Yup… well, more like lovers. Kind of."

My heart nearly stopped beating at the mention of Bella having a 'lover', but it resumed when "kind of" was added to what she was saying.

"What do you mean by 'kind of'?" I asked. I could tell that my voice was firm.

Alice's eyes continued to bore into mine, and then–– as if she were deliberating whether or not to tell me–– finally said, "Yeah. They aren't officially––" she formed bunny ears with her fingers to indicate the "quote-on-quote" meaning, "––going out, but they basically are."

My eyes narrowed at her nonsensical addle, and I leaned in closer so she could continue, "Jacob… well, Jake, isn't really her boyfriend, but they are madly in love…or attracted…or whatever they are to each other."

Alice sighed, and then continued, her inquiring eyes never leaving my face, "Jacob is younger than Bella, and her model at that, so they held off actually dating until Jacob became her number one model… and turns twenty… which should be in a few months, if I remember correctly," She paused, and cocked her eyebrow at me, her expression implying, "So, as I said, they've been kind of together for a few years now. And in a few more months, they really will be together."

Disregarding whatever double-meaning Alice intended by her suggestive tone, my sole focus was that Bella did have a boyfriend…who was younger than her and was a model.

I was literally seething.

I shut my eyes closed, trying to distinguish the burning flame that was erupting inside of me, and exhaled deeply. Wasn't it she who said that she didn't date colleagues? That younger men weren't in her target range? Or at least, that was what she had clearly meant with her ambiguous statements.

My hands balled into tight fists, and it took all the strength I had to keep it cool.

What was wrong with me, anyways? It wasn't as if I was in love with her. I was angry because she basically lied to me, and confounded because she actually did have a boyfriend–– who would have thought?  
I wasn't going to allow myself to become jealous. I've never been before, and I certainly wasn't going to start now. There was no reason to. I was just attracted to her, and my desire to tell her how I felt was purely an in-the-moment feeling. I already had a girlfriend, and a beautiful one at that. So she couldn't make me laugh, or was possibly the most conceited being on the face of this Earth–– it didn't imply that Bella meant more to me. I barely even knew her.

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to settle my anxiousness. I didn't dare look at Alice–– almost expectant of the look of amusement she was bound to give me–– and pretended not to notice Jasper's eyes on me, either.

I wasn't jealous–– I was strictly annoyed.

I wasn't angry–– I was only irritated.

I was devestated so much as I was surprised.

At least, that was what I was trying to convince myself, before Bella's chair suddenly moved from beside me.

_**Bella.**_

"I missed you too, Jake," I said, trying to mask the guilt that was rippling in my stomach. I couldn't have felt any worse, not that I wanted to.

When I had picked up the phone, still seated at the table, and pulled it to my ear, I almost stopped breathing when Jake's all-too-familiar voice sounded from the other side, "Bella."

All I could do was sit there, frozen, the sound of him calling my name in that breathtaking voice of his. A feeling of instant happiness had clouded over me, but not nearly long enough until the guilt kicked in.

I wanted to speak to him. I knew he was probably waiting there at my apartment, and I felt guilty for making him wait. But the guilt of kissing Cullen–– and how vivid the images were as they suddenly came pouring into my head –– was even stronger than that.

The confusing thing was, even more than the shame of kind of cheating on the guy I loved, was the desperate need to leave the table. For some reason, I just couldn't have a conversation with Jake while Cullen was there. I didn't know why, and even now, I just can't comprehend why I felt like I didn't want Jacob to know about Cullen. That I didn't want Cullen to know about Jacob. Before I even knew it, I had already excused myself to Alice, and–– after sneaking a glance at Edward–– rushed away from them, feeling strangely guilty. And the feeling was strange, because in that moment–– though it only lasted until I made it to the woman's restroom and heard Jake's voice again–– I wasn't exactly sure who I felt guilty about.

'_Don't be stupid,_' I mentally hissed at myself, _'It's none of Cullen's business who you're sort of with._' At least, that was what I was trying to convince myself.

"Bella?" I was suddenly brought back from my thoughts when Jacob called my name, trying to retrieve my faltering attention.

"I'm sorry, Jake. Umm… what were you saying?"

I relaxed a bit as Jacob's soothing chuckles came flooding into my ear. That's why I loved him. If it were me he had been ignoring, I would have been undoubtedly irritated.

"Have you come back to Earth now? Or should I go to Mars and get you back?" His voice was as charming as ever–– his tone warm. Playful.

"Ha ha, very funny," I told him sarcastically, rolling my eyes in the process, "Now, while I'm still on Earth, would you mind being so kind as to tell me what you were saying?"

"From when you were still listening? Or after you so rudely ignored me?"

Rolling my eyes again, I waited.

"Alright already," Jacob said sourly, "I'll tell you…again."

I laughed at his sullen attitude. I was beginning to miss him more and more, and that feeling was starting to overpower my previous guilty conscience.

"I asked where were you having dinner." He said, his question stated, rather than asked.

My eyebrows pulled together. "Why?"

Jacob sighed into the phone, and said, "So I can pick you up, of course."

And the guilty conscience came running back to bite me in the ass.

"No," I tried to sound as calm as I could, "You don't have to do that. I already brought my car." There. That was a very good excuse. I almost wanted to compliment myself. It was a good thing that I didn't hitch a ride with Alice, like I usually did on so many of our dinner dates.

When Jacob spoke, you could almost hear the frown in his voice,

"Are you that far off?" He asked.

"No, I'm at some restaurant called "_Mis Amas Vin_"… or something." I told him, trying to pronounce the name as I remembered Cullen saying it.

"Oh, that place," Jacob said, his tone matter of fact, "Yeah, I've been there a few times."

That surprised me. I never knew that Jacob came here. We usually had dinner together. Or at least, that's what I thought.

"You come to this restaurant?" I asked, curiously. Well, I could certainly see him in here. He fit into the whole grandeur-life just as well as Cullen did…'Why are you thinking of him again?!'

"Like I said; a few times. It was always with clients after shoots or something," I could almost hear the nonchalant shrug in his voice, "but It's not my favorite place to eat. Some of the French dishes are kind of good, but the Japanese––" he shuddered dramatically, "––Yuck! Some of the weirdest things I've ever heard of. Did you know they actually make soup out of cow guts?"

My mouth clamped shut into a tight line, and I struggled with the urge to either barf again, or laugh hysterically from the irony. I decided on neither of the two options. Instead, my mood suddenly turned glum, and my eyes narrowed into slits. Did I actually agree to forgive that jerk? Why was I such an idiot?

"Umm… Bells?" Jacob called from the other line, his voice slightly worried.

"What?" My tone was divided between a question and an irritated snap.

Jacob was now fully alarmed by my sudden change in attitude, "You okay?"

'Don't take it out on him', I reminded myself, 'He's not the one who tricked you into eating the thing. He's also not the one who accepted the apology of the guy who did it, either." Scowling, I thumped myself lightly on the head. You know you did something stupid when your own head was mercilessly accusing you. I couldn't even get a break from myself!

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, Jake. I just thought of something…unpleasant." Huge understatement there.

"Right…well, are you really sure you don't want me to pick you up anyways?"

I hated to turn him down when he sounded so hopeful, but I'd rather die then have him come and see me in this dress. There was also the chance of Cullen meeting Jacob that set my nerves on edge, though I was still at a loss as to why I even felt that way. Still, I knew I didn't want them to meet. That was enough convincement for me. At least, for now it was.'Like they aren't going to bump into each other at the agency,'

"I'm alright," I assured him, "I'll be back soon. We're all but done, anyways."

Jacob sighed, dejectedly, and said, "Fine. Hurry back soon, okay? I miss you more and more every second you're not with me."

After years of hearing Jacob's romancing words, I still felt myself grow red. My heart felt tight in my chest. I felt so stupid for not wanting to see him. What happened with Cullen was just a mistake.

A pleasant mistake, but a mistake, nonetheless. There was no point in trying to hide from Jake. We hadn't seen each other for a whole month. It was wrong of me to let Cullen become an impediment on my time with him.

"Same here," I told him honestly, ignoring the further burn of my face, "I'll see you in a bit."

Jacob sighed again, "Yeah."

"Bye," I giggled, before closing the phone shut.

I inhaled in one final breath of air, as if there would be no clean air left, and stalked out of the bathroom, into the direction of the table.

As the gap between me and the table decreased, I felt as if my breath was caught in my throat. What was I getting worried for, anyway?

Without glancing even the slightest bit at Cullen, I pulled my seat out, and sat beside him as I usually did. I smiled apologetically at Alice and Jasper, who had appeared to be engrossed in some conversation, and braved myself to look at Cullen.

"Sorry for taking so long," I apologized, smiling.

Cullen stared at me for a while, completely causing all breath in my body to cease circulation, and then smiled a dazzling, yet somewhat tight, smile.

See? Everything was just normal.

Too bad my heart refused to be the same.

_**Edward.**_

It took everything I had to smile so benignantly. I was pretty sure it was a smile. It might have been a bit firm, but I was an expert at hiding how I really felt. Or at least, I was an expert–– before my emotions reached such a complicated and perplexing state.

Bella returned to the table looking completely normal. Or so I would have thought, if I hadn't notice that extra shine to her.

So she was happy. Jacob made her happy.

I almost scowled.

"So, how's Jacob been?" Alice suddenly asked.

Bella's eyes widened in horror, and then narrowed into slits. Alice just continued to stare at her, unmoving. Her question sounded innocent enough, but I had an intuitive feeling that that was not the case. She had purposely told me about Jacob–– I sneered the name–– but her reasons for doing so had be stupefied. What was her purpose?

"He's fine," Bella said quickly, after what seemed like an entire minute. I watched her expression furtively, and it was obvious that she did not want to persist on that subject. Neither did I, for that matter.

"So, how about we head out to the dance floor," Jasper interjected, calmly, "They've already started to clear out the center."

"Dance," Bella turned her frosty glare from Alice, to a more composed expression at Jasper, "What do you mean by 'dance'? Here?"

Jasper nodded, a slight flicker of relief crossed his face, but vanished in the next second. He reminded me a lot of the middle man; someone who worked to avert people from dangerous territory. And from the way Bella had been staring at Alice, and the boiling feeling in the pit of my stomach, Jacob was a dangerous subject.

"Yeah. This place is famous for their dance parties. Once the kitchen is closed, it becomes something like a club. The only difference is that they only play music from genres like Swing, Blues, Jazz, Salsa… you know, the classics."

Bella's expression dropped, and she looked utterly panicked. I watched as she bit her lip in frustration, and then glanced down at her watch.

"Are you going to dance?" she asked, looking back up to Jasper.

Jasper's lips pulled into a large, toothy grin and he nodded, "I love dancing. When I first heard about this place, I was a little uncertain…but once my friend told me about the dancing––" his grin grew even wider, "–– I was sold."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but clasped it shut when the lights in the restaurant turned dim. I should have been surprised, or at least interested, when everything suddenly went dark, and golden lights began flashing all around. I would have been, if not for the fact that my head, along with my heart, was in total chaos.

The sound of light Spanish music erupted throughout the restaurant, reverberating. People all around us starting standing from their seats, walking towards the large, empty space in the center of this place. Jasper, too, had stood up.

"Would I be so honored as to have this dance, Alice?" He asked her, offering his hands to her.

Alice smiled brilliantly, and nodded, placing her hands on Jaspers' so that he could pull her up. She bounced up like a feather, and intertwined their fingers with his. Jasper returned the smile.

"Well," Alice said, turning her attention back to us, "Aren't you guys going to dance?"

Bella nearly hissed at her, and said, "Alice, you know I can't dance!"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Who cares?

"Alice!"

I wasn't surprised that Bella was so dead set against dancing. After all, she couldn't even walk along a flat surface without being in danger of tripping on something. I could only guess at just how dangerous dancing–– which requires actual movement–– was to her.

If this had happened an hour ago, I would have laughed. But I was far too irritated to find anything funny.

"You owe me," Alice said, pulling her hands softly from Jasper's hand, and crossing her arms over her chest, "After disappearing on us for so long, and this is all I ask of you; to have fun with us."

Bella scowled at her, "What happened to 'no harm being done'?"

"Bella," She pouted, her eyes falling in sadness, "please? For your best friend?"

"Argh," Bella groaned in defeat, "Fine! But who do you expect me to dance with?"

Although my head was not turned in their direction, I still saw Alice's eyes fall on me. I also saw when Bella's hand began to shake in desperate refusal. Was she embarrassed because she couldn't dance, and didn't want to humiliate herself in front of me? Or did she not want to dance with another man besides her boyfriend?  
So she could kiss them, but refused to dance with them?

I was starting to boil again.

"I think that's a great idea, Alice," I said, turning my head towards them. Both Alice and Bella's attention snapped on me, and Bella gave me a suspicious, and slightly dreaded look. Alice looked a little smug.

"Umm… I don't really think that's a good idea," Bella started, dropping her head, "I'm really not a good dancer."

It took a great deal of effort to keep that smile on my face.

"It's all in the leading," I tried to assure her, rising from my seat,

"Come on. It could be fun."

Bella looked up at me again, from under her eyelashes, and I felt my heart skip. She really was extraordinarily beautiful tonight…

" I don't think we should," she said again, but her eyes remainedon mine.

"But why not? It's only natural to dance with your date."

She flinched at the word, and I put out my hand for her to take,

"C'mon. I promise I wont let you fall."

Her face lost all traces of resistance as she glared at me. Though that had faltered, she still looked imminent. Hesitant.

"Fine," she snarled, taking my hand and pulling herself up, "but only one dance."

"Fine." I returned her word curtly, twirling her around, pulling her along with me towards the crowd of moving bodies.

By the time we found a spacey place to start, the Spanish music had already ended, and a slow Jazz song had started.

"I hope you know that I can't dance at all." She pointed out, her expression sour.

I couldn't help but laugh. Bella was really too cute.

"It doesn't matter, since I can." I reminded her, grabbing her hands and pulling her body into mine. I bent my head low, so that my lips were nearly an inch from her ears, and whispered, "Just follow me carefully."

She gave a short nod, and I smiled. I was confident in my dancing skills. Many women complimented, praised, and even swooned over me for it.

Then, did that mean I was hoping for something?

I wrapped one of my hands around Bella's waist, and folded my free hand into hers.

She just stood there, dumbstruck.

"I'm pretty sure you have to place your other hand on my shoulder, so we can start dancing." I told her, letting my eyebrows pull up in amusement.

Bella glanced around quickly, to the sea of people who were around us–– dancing in the same position.

I snorted. Did she mistrust me to the point that she had to assure herself that I was not tricking her? If that were truly the case, I would have to start earning her trust quickly…

"I know that," she snapped, grasping my shoulder tightly. I smiled again, but my thoughts remained elsewhere. Even when my feet began to move, in rhythm with the Jazzy beat, I was still lost in thought.

There was no need for me to want to gain her trust. She had a boyfriend, already. A young model boyfriend. There was no longer a need for me to want to get closer to her.

And yet, I still wanted to.

But if that were the case, what did that entail? Did it mean that I wanted to intervene in their relationship? That I liked her more than I thought?

'Don't be stupid, Edward!' I told myself, twirling Bella around me in the process.

So I was attracted to her. And yes, I had been previously thinking of ending it with my own girlfriend to see how things could go between us. I was curious to see how these feelings would result, and to what extent they would go. But that was only because I was attracted to her, and she was so interesting. Maybe, like a scientist sought interest in an alien–– I was interested in Bella because she was so different from everything else I knew. Because she made me feel different when I was with her.

I thought all this, but there was something missing. Some important factor that I could not figure out–– so that I could not put all the pieces together.

"Are you alright, Cullen?" Bella suddenly asked.

Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked down at her to see that her face was clouded in worry.

"Yeah," I muttered softly, still continuing to dance.

"If you say so," she said. Her eyes remained worried.

I tried to keep my thoughts from wandering again, by allowing myself to become immersed in dancing. I now paid attention to what we were doing, and how Bella was coming along.

She didn't look bad dancing at all. If anything, I thought it was cute how she kept glancing at her feet to make sure she was moving okay.

"Don't worry," I assured her, smirking, "As long as I'm your partner, you wont mess up."

Bella rolled her eyes, but refrained from looking down.  
Huh. So she believed me when it came to my own values.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you would be," I told her before pulling her away from me, and the reeling her back in, "I figured you to be much worse."

Bella scowled again, and I resisted the urge to chuckle.

"Just because I cant dance, doesn't mean I've never been dancing before." She snapped, tightening her grip on my shoulder. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was trying to hurt me.

"Oh?" I asked. From the way she so vehemently refused to dance when her best friend asked, I was curious about the people who convinced her to go. Bella didn't strike me as the type of person who went clubbing, at all. "Do you go often with, Alice?"

Bella's face suddenly turned a light shade of pink, and she ducked her head to avoid my gaze.

I stared at her, bewildered by her sudden reaction, until everything clicked together in my .

I grit my teeth together, and felt my hands marginally tighten. Everything in me told me to drop the subject. To never speak of it again, in fear that I would explode. I, of course, ignored that warning. I was far too annoyed to heed it.

"So I take it that this Jake person is your boyfriend." I found myself saying, my tone tight.

Bella's eyes opened wide and she shot her head up in surprise.

Must have figured that I didn't know.

"How did you…?" She started, her eyes averting my stare.

I shrugged, as if it didn't matter, and said, "I thought you didn't date younger men."

I had to gulp down the blazing heat that was rising from within me, when her face darkened an extra shade.

"Or that you didn't involve yourself with people you work with."

Bella remained silent, as I threw questions at her that clearly labeled her as a lying hypocrite. Every second she remained quiet, I grew all the more angry.

"Are you dating him to make yourself feel young?" I asked, my voice edged with bitter accusation.

Bella did not say a word. Though we were still dancing, we were going at a pace much slower than the original beat. It felt as if we were in slow motion, compared to the all the bustling people around us.

Why was she not saying anything? Did she feel bad for technically lying? As if I had caught her red-handed? Was she silent because I was right; and had perfectly hit the mark. Or, perhaps, because she just didn't want to talk about him. Because something might have happened between them.

I was wishfully hoping on the latter of those assumptions.  
We danced and danced, as if stuck in our own little world. Bellarefused to look up, and I was getting angrier by the second.

"Could it be that you only used him? Toyed with his feelings so he can become your number one?"

That one hit.

"What the hell did you just say?" Her head snapped up, and she glared with me with so much ferocity that I would have backed away if not for the fact that I was probably just as evenly angry as she.

"Don't talk about Jacob like you know anything about him. Like you know anything about me."

My eyes narrowed into furious slits, and before I could even think about saying anything, my words rolled out in a hiss, "Since you're so desperate, it could have been with anyone, then?"

Bella's mouth dropped open, and then clamped shut in a tight line.

She broke free of my hold on her waist, and pulled her hands from my own. I watched, cautiously, as she stomped a step towards me, her glare murderous. I was preparing her to take a swing at me, like she so often did. And since I was, I was left totally unprepared when her thick heel came crashing into my foot.

"You damn bi––!" I howled, pushing her away from me and my throbbing foot.

I looked up at her, my own face twisted in fury, to see that her middle finger was completely flipped at me.

"I don't ever want to see your damn face again, you stupid bastard!" She growled, turning on her heel and stomping away.

I was far too enraged to even think it was my fault. I stormed back to the table–– completely ignoring the searing pain in my foot, the stares of the people around me, and Alice's voice as she called out my name.

I grabbed my jacket from off my chair, and dropped a fifty dollar bill on the table, before walking to the large spiral staircase, up it, and then out of the main doors.

"My car," I nearly snapped at the valet nearest to me. He quickly took the numbered paper from my hand, and ran off to the back of the restaurant.

In less than two minutes, the same guy arrived with my car.

I opened the door, and exhaled a deep breath before sliding in.  
Being in the comfort of my favorite silver Volvo calmed me down a little, but not nearly enough to wipe the irate expression from my face.

I turned the key in the ignition, and stepped down hard on the gas petal. I took a quick glance in the rear view mirror, making sure that no cars would be in danger when I sped off, and shot my foot down in a desperate attempt to get away.

I drove farther and farther ahead, refusing to look back at the two people who remained in front of the restaurant, caught in a sickening embrace.

It was obvious now; I wasn't just irritated or angry–– I was irrevocably and earnestly jealous.

_**Jacob.**_

"Bye," Bella giggled from the other line.

I sighed again, and shut the phone after she had ended the call.

Why wasn't she here?

It had been a month since I had last seen her. A devastatingly and torturously long-as-hell month. But I had finally managed to come back.

My father's condition had improved tremendously, and he was finally discharged from the hospital. It was only a shame that he didn't leave his poor attitude behind.

There was also the news of the end of my successful contract with 'Le Vogue'. Bella would be more than pleased to hear about that.

At the thought of Bella, I sighed again.

I missed her. More than anything, I wanted to just drop the stupid contract and come back to her. But I couldn't risk dropping a job and, in turn, losing my position as Twilight Runway's best model. I had waited three years for Bella to become mine, and I wouldn't let anything come in the way of that. Not even my own selfish desires.'It's only a few more months,' I reminded myself, falling into the light gray sofa's in her living room. After all the time I've waited for her, a few measly months was nothing. Or at least, that was what I was trying to convince myself.

"Bella," I murmured, stuffing my face into the sofa cushion, "Come home quickly."

When the director of the commercial and shoot for 'Le Vogue' had finally given me the O.K to leave, I flew out of Los Angeles the same day. I left every piece of luggage I had behind, instructing the hotel to send it to my pent house in Seattle. I couldn't spare even an extra second of being without her. I had to see Bella. I needed to see her.

Glancing at my watch one more time, I moaned when I realized not even five minutes had passed.

I was going to go crazy from waiting.

"Argh!" I groaned, hopping to my feet in exasperation.

I pulled out my cell phone and called the nearest taxi company.

I just couldn't wait any longer.


	9. life is full of suprises

_**Bella.**_

"Shut up!" I groaned, slamming my hands on the dresser, my fingers desperately trying to find that stupid alarm clock. When I finally got a hold of it, I pressed the stick-like button on the top, and groaned again.

I would never be a morning person.

I sat up, and rubbed my temples with my fingers, keeping my eyes closed to avoid the beaming light that peaked from my curtains. _Ugh_! It was morning already.

Without looking at the time, or participating in my usual activity of morning stretches, I stumbled off the bed and started for the bath, grabbing my toiletries on the way, and dragging my feet as I walked.

My brain was still half-asleep as I stripped out of my pajamas– – a large, dark green shirt and black boxers, and stepped into the hot, blissful water of the shower. I let the heat wash over me– – running over my body, which felt as if I had just been running a marathon of sorts, and let the humid mist wake me, clearing up my head.

As my head started to clear, the memories of last night came as well.

"Ugh!" I groaned, leaning my back into the marble walls of the shower.

Before I scrubbed or washed anything, I allowed my mind to think back on yesterday's occurrences, and on the actions that I would now have to take.

I thought of everything Cullen said, disregarding the whole 'cow intestine' stunt. It was after that, when we had been dancing, that had been perturbing. I couldn't fathom what would possess him to behave the way he did. To speak to me that way. Ok, yeah, sure… everything I said to him shortly before the date had been full of hypocrisy, but it wasn't as if I lied. I _didn't _date younger men, and I avoided getting into relationships with the people I worked with– – aside from Jacob, of course. But Jacob was different; he was my only exception. It still didn't explain his reasoning for lashing out on me, or his purpose for being angry. None of his actions last night made even the least bit of sense.

In truth, what he had said had really bothered me, even though it shouldn't have. Did he truly believe that I was so desperate? Or that I was the type of person who would take advantage of a person's emotions to move forward in the world? Is that truly what he thought, or was it just melodramatic words used in an instant of fury? _Why_ he was furious was beyond me– – but there was no doubt about it that he had been.

So, in short, I abbreviated Cullen's infuriating performance at dinner yesterday as him just being a plain ass, and settled on thinking nothing more than what I had to do with him. Regardless his temperaments, I could not deny the fact that Cullen was indeed beautiful. Far more so than the majority of the model's that worked for Twilight Runway.

Did I want to consider working with him again? When he showed absolutely no respect towards me yesterday? It would prove to be a rather difficult task, but I was certain that I would be able to have him removed from my management. And then, there was the issue of cancelling his first photo shoot in just three days. I certainly didn't want to miss _that_…

I sighed again, and after finishing up with conditioning my hair– – using my favorite strawberry scented hair soap– – I wrapped the blue-checkered towel around me, and left the bathroom.

Cullen's attitude was really something to think about. If he were to act like this again, to disrespect me so vehemently, then how could I possibly work with him? If things were going to be like that all the time, then why should I even bother? I've only known Cullen for two weeks, and not only had we gotten off on the wrong start, but he has done nothing to fix things, either. Not to mention that he, and his unyielding, tempered mannerisms, just seemed to get worse and worse, even _after_ he apologized, and promised to gain my trust.

'_Bull Crapper'_ I thought, sourly, as I slipped on a purple, ruffled button-down shirt from _'Rakuen', _anda pair of tanned, nameless slacks and black flats.

I gave myself a quick once-over, not in any mood to do my usual annoying mirror routine, and started for the kitchen. I needed coffee– – desperately.

Yawning in exhaustion, I rubbed my eyes and walked into my average-sized kitchen. At the sight of a person sitting at the table, I jumped up in alarm, and clasped my mouth shut, restraining a scream.

"Morning, Bells." The guy greeted me, taking a small sip of what I assumed was coffee.

"Jake," I cried, placing a hand over my heart and sighing in relief, "you nearly caused me a heart attack! I swear I just lost a couple of years off my life!"

Jacob smirked at me from just above his steaming cup, and winked, before taking another sip.

"When did you get here?" I asked. He was fully dressed, wearing a pair of faded, ripped black jeans and a mahogany polo shirt. Even when wearing normal attire, Jacob looked nothing less than gorgeous. Well, that _was_ to be expected. He was my number one model, after all.

"Early this morning," he shrugged, placing his cup back on the table, and getting up. I waited while he walked over to the coffee machine, and poured some of the ambrosial, dark liquid into one of my many coffee mugs. Jake placed the cup next to his, and patted the seat beside him, "Probably around eight or so."

I nodded, and walked towards the table, taking a seat beside him. I took a deep whiff of the delicious smelling coffee in front of me, and took a swigging gulp.

"One of these days you are going to burn your throat doing that," Jacob scolded, crossing his arms over his chest.

I laughed, "It's not even that hot. You are such a baby."

He playfully glared at me from the corner of his eyes, and then turned in his seat, positioning himself closer to me, at an angle where both our chests faced each other.

I knew what was coming.

Jacob pulled me into a warm, tight hug, and whispered in my ear, "I missed you, Bella."

I couldn't even think. I just completely relaxed in his arms. All my previous concerns seemed to slip away once I was in Jake's embrace, and all I could think about was wanting to be closer to him. About how much I missed the feel of him holding me.

"Me too," I breathed back, burying my face into his neck, "You could have stayed over, you know."

Jake snorted, but didn't release his grip on my waist, "Yeah, right. You give me _too_ much credit, Bells. I'm not as controlled as you think I am."

It was my turn to snort.

"I know you wouldn't do something that I don't want to do. You're not that type of person."

Jacob sighed, as if he had given up, and unlocked his arms from around me. "I guess you're right," he frowned when my face lit up to a huge grin, "but you also needed some alone time."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him, raising my eyebrow. Hadn't we had enough of that already?

"Bells, yesterday you looked like you were going to burst into tears."

_Oh, that._

_And here I though I had done a good, or at least decent, job of hiding it. _

Last night, after my "showdown" with Cullen, I nearly ran out of the restaurant, feeling utterly depressed. I was angry, and I was hurt– – though I would never tell anyone _that_. Right before I managed to finally get to my car, someone had grabbed my hand, preventing me from going further. When I turned around to see who it was, I had– – and I would never admit to this either– – secretly thought it was Cullen who had run after me. I secretly _wanted_ Cullen to run after me.

'_Like he had any reason to.'_

I was in total shock when I suddenly came crashing into Jacob's chest. He had such perfect timing, as usual. In the next instance I was hugging him painfully. Greedily. Even if it were for only a second, my distress instantly dissipated, along with the feelings to either cry, or hunt down Cullen with a crow bar.

Jacob had driven me home, after that. We didn't speak much, though I didn't recall that until I had already been home. After he dropped me off, he just left. It wasn't until I had already dressed for bed that I felt even more guilty for neglecting Jacob. What a great sort of girl friend I was!

"So," Jacob asked, his back turned to me while he washed both his and my cup in the sink, "Did something happen yesterday with Alice? You seemed pretty upset."

Jacob slowly turned around, and looked at me with concerned eyes. I felt bad that I was going to lie to him.

"No, everything's fine. I just had an argument with someone I knew, and I got pretty upset." I lied, looking down at my fiddling fingers.

"I see…" Jake sighed. He knew I was lying– – that much was obvious. Most people figured me easy to read, and since Jake knew me better than those people, he was bound to realize when I was lying. But Jake being Jake, I knew that he wouldn't push it. Not when it looked like it would upset me. "Well, if the jerk ever comes up to you again, tell me. I'll punch a whole right into their face."

I giggled at how protective he was, and took a swift glance at my watch.

"Crap," I groaned, pulling my sleeve down to my wrist, "I'm going to be late. Oh, by the way, how was the contract?"

Jake smiled a brilliant smile, and said, "Excellent. Everything was finished perfectly."

I rushed over to him, and lifted myself on my toes, so that I could reach his cheek.

I had no such luck.

Noticing my struggles, Jacob chuckled, and lowered his face so that I could plant a nice wet one right beside his lip.

"Congratulations," I cooed, hugging him tightly. When I pulled away, I knew that I probably smiling just as widely as he was, "I knew you could handle that job."

"Thanks, Bells."

"And how's your father?"

That removed the smile from Jacob's face. "The old man? Physically he's alright, I guess. He was discharged from the hospital already. But, unfortunately, I cant say the same for his crappy attitude."

Jacob's face looked positively bitter, but I knew that he loved his father dearly. It was the same for his dad. Billy Black loved Jacob, he just hated his profession. Billy and Jacob were a complicated bunch.

"Well, it's good that he's finally out of the hospital. I know Billy would prefer eating Sue's food, rather than that disgusting hospital waste."

Jacob nodded silently, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

Humph. Isn't _that_ something new.

It was my fault, after all, that Jacob became a model. When I left Forks a few years ago, after finishing high school, I moved over to New York to enroll in FIT, to pursue a career in fashion.

Both my mother and father had been against it at first. New York was such a…_dangerous, _as Renee liked to call it, place. They constantly asked me questions like, "Why are you aiming for a career in fashion when you hate dressing up?". They were correct, of course. I hate dressing up and standing out. It went against my _nature_. Still, I enjoyed looking at people who looked good, odd as that may seem. I had always been interested in watching people walk the runway in beautiful clothing, and I loved when people– – beautiful or average– – "dolled up" and became stunning. It was like man-made magic.

I had started the dream with the intention of becoming a designer, but in the end, managing fashion models suited me better. That, and I was truly horrible at it. I had been working at a small Fashion agency called "Noir", for a little less than two years before I finally returned home. Things were a little difficult, and I was only managing to meet ends meet. I missed my father, and I missed my friends at La Push.

When I returned to Forks, I had started to have second thoughts about my career choice. My job was a low pay piece of crap, and my apartment was even worse than that. I was considering leaving New York, and working somewhere near– – like in Seattle or something. I was, that is, until Jacob Black came to visit me.

And that was all it took.

I convinced him to come with me– – which was surprisingly easy– – and brought him with me to New York. After the president of _Noir_ rejected us, I came back to Forks, and applied for a job at a newly-built modeling agency called "Twilight Runway". It was still a no-name company, but it was in Seattle, at least. I brought him to my new boss, and argued for hours to let me manage him, despite the fact that I didn't even have an official managing license at the time.

He refused me on many occasions, but I never gave up. It also helped that Jake refused to work under anyone but me, and Jake was clearly a seller. With a height of almost 6"5", a built, manly body, a charming personality, a beautiful face and alluring eyes– – Jake was the perfect model. Even if I _had_ failed in my attempts to manage him, I would have still supported the idea. Just the thought of seeing him in the papers and in commercials and on posters sent chills up my spine– – he was far to beautiful to _not_ be noticed.

When Mr. Hale finally agreed, I took my chance without hesitation. I had no doubt that Jacob would sell well, and my senses had turned out right. By the end of the year, Jacob had become as popular as a best selling novel. Hell, I don't even think the release of the final book of Stephenie Meyer's "_Twilight_" series could compare to the attention Jacob got. Once I saw him in Forks, I immediately saw great promise and potential in him– – he was a modeling prodigy.

"Bells," Jacob's voice interrupted my daydreams, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, scratching my head, "I just dazed off, is all."

A smirk flashed across Jakes' face, and he raised an eyebrow, "Daydreaming about me, were you?"

I laughed at his attempt at conceited humor, and reminded both him and myself, "I'm _really_ going to be late. I'll see you later, won't I?"

Jacob nodded, and kissed me on my forehead, tenderly.

I already wanted to stay home.

"And will you start setting me up for more jobs?" He asked, pulling me into his arms once again.

"It's already been done," I grinned, pulling away from him reluctantly. If I stayed like that anymore, there was a huge possibility that I wouldn't want to go to work anymore, "I'll tell you about it all later."

Jacob sighed, and I couldn't help but giggle. He wore the most adorable expression whenever he and I separated; like a puppy who lost his bone.

"Bye, Jake."

"Later, Bells."

I walked out of the apartment, grabbing my purse from the table near the entrance, and out of the door, making sure to lock it behind me.

Since I wasn't wearing heels, I jogged down the stairs– – being careful not to trip– – and ran to the car. I glanced at my reflection in the tinted glass windows, and sighed, pulling the door open and slipping into the driver's seat.

Now that Jacob wasn't with me, the uneasiness started to settle again.

I sighed again. So, now what was I going to do with Cullen?

_**Edward.**_

"Listen, Tanya," I sighed in exhaustion, holding my cell-phone further from my ear to prevent her loud complaints from breaking my ear-drum, "I already told you that I was busy. I _can't_ meet you today." _I don't _want _to meet you today!_

"But baby," she whined from the other line, "We haven't seen each other in two weeks! You are completely neglecting me. Not only that, but you _refuse _to tell me where the hell you've been."

I sighed again, this time removing the phone from my ear so she couldn't hear it. Ok, yeah… so I haven't seen my girlfriend in two weeks, but that didn't mean she has to harass me. We've been together for a long time already. She should know already that I sometimes needed space from her– – even though I exceeded the usual time limit of those "breaks".

"Edward?" She said from the phone, her tone annoyed.

"Yeah, Tanya, I'm still here."

"Edward, you're being ridiculous. You haven't called, let alone returned any of mine. When I call your house, they always say that you are never there. None of your friends have seen you, either. And you expect me to act like everything's okay?"

I stayed quiet, and she continued, "I know you like _time off _from time to time, and you know I'm okay with that. But, still, you're overdoing it. I don't even know why I'm your girlfriend if you wont even tell me what's going on!"

She had a valid point. Tanya wasn't stupid. If anything, she was highly intelligent– – when she wanted to be. That was probably the only reason why I continued to date her for so long. Well, that and the fact that she's incredible in bed. But back to the point, she _did_ have a point. I could at least tell her where I've been. Or what I've been doing, lately.

I took a deep breath, and braced myself, "I've been at work, Tanya. That's where I've been."

"Work?" Her voice sounded completely astonished, "why?"

"Because my Dad wanted me to get a job, so I got one."

I didn't even bother with hoping that she wouldn't push it further.

"Where are you working at?"

'_Here it goes….'_

"Twilight Runway." _Not for long…_

There was a long pause from the other line, and it was my turn to ask, "Tanya?"

I pulled my phone away from my ear, just as the loud squealing started.

"That's great, Edward," She sounded ecstatic, "I _told_ you would make a great model! Ah, this is wonderful news!"

"And you'll never believe who I got the idea from.." I said sourly. I knew I was digging my own grave, but I might as well please her for the moment. Even though I didn't love Tanya as much as she probably loved me, I still cared for her, and I sometimes felt a little bad when I made her unhappy– – when it was really my fault, that is.

"Me?" She asked, excitedly.

"Yup."

"Edward, you should have told me sooner," she squealed again. Maybe I shouldn't have told her at all, was more like it. I was starting to feel stupid for suddenly deciding to be nice. Now she would never stop talking about it– – with me and with everyone she knew. "Why don't we go out today?"

I knew that was coming, too.

"I don't know, Tanya… I don't think I have time today." Yeah, right. Like I still had a job after what happened with Bella last night. I had plenty of time in the world now. The thought of having to go to another agency made me mentally groan. And I would have to tell my father what happened, too…

"Please, Edward? Please? At least for lunch?"

I thought about it for a while, and said, "Fine." Might as well. I had nothing else to do until the company called my father, telling him something on the lines of _"your son is banned from Twilight due to the harassment of his manager", _or something like that, anyways.

"Alright! Stay there, ok? I'll come and meet you and we can head over to "_Giovanni's_".

"Sure."

"See you in a bit. Love you!"

"Sure."

Once Tanya's line was cut short, I moaned aloud. What had I just gotten myself into?

I plopped down hard on my bed, and put my I pod on. I needed to keep myself distracted, so that I wouldn't have to think about what had happened last night.

But no matter how hard I tried, yesterdays events kept on invading my head, showing each scene as an irritatingly vivid slideshow. I kept on imagining Bella's angry or bewildered expressions. Her tear-streaked face when I had made fun of her. Her dazed countenance after we had kissed… and then right back to her furious appearance when I called her 'desperate'.

I turned to my back, and buried my face into my large, dark blue pillow.

Yesterday had been a disaster. Not only had I completely lashed out on Bella, but I basically called her a whore. To make matters worse, it was all after I had apologized and promised to regain her trust.

"_Yeah, good luck with that now, Cullen"_

_I rolled my eyes at myself, and groaned. _

What '_now_'? Like she could ever possibly forgive _that!_ I had completely blown it. When I heard about her having a boyfriend, I grew insanely jealous without even knowing it. It was partially her fault for lying to me, but that wasn't the point. The point was that I should have dealt with it in a more rational matter. I shouldn't have let my emotions– – no matter how new they are to me– – control my actions. I should have distanced myself from her once I started to get so angry. Nothing good _ever_ comes out of my temper.

And when we started to dance, and somehow _Jacob– – _His name came out as a sneer whenever I thought it– – was brought in the conversation, I should have just let it go. I shouldn't have proceeded in furthering my anger. And I sure as hell shouldn't have insulter her. It had been a while since I'd been that angry; and I just couldn't stop myself from accusing– – well, _attacking– – _her like that.

I sighed again. Why did I always do such idiotic things?

Once I found out about _Jacob_, I should have just let it go. Let _her_ go. I wasn't so desperate that I would go after a girl who already had a man. She was already taken, and I already had a girlfriend. I felt like a complete idiot. At least, that was what I had been trying to convince myself last night.

And then, there was also the realization of me almost telling her how I felt. What _would _have happened if I _had _confessed my attraction to her. With the way things were between us, and with her already having a boyfriend, Bella would have rejected me without hesitation. I'd never been rejected before, but I knew that it couldn't be pretty.

But even knowing this; that she _was_ taken, and that I had officially messed things up with her, I couldn't _not_ think about her last night. She was on my mind every second of every minute, and I couldn't help but feel like a complete jerk. Guilt was really a pain in the ass.

I turned around again, positioning myself to lay on my stomach, and buried my head once again in my pillow. I felt like a stupid, love-struck teenager, and I hated it. Maybe I needed that date with Tanya more than I thought…

Rolling my eyes, I pushed thoughts of Tanya aside, as well as my own miserable feelings, and decided to think of only what I _would_ do. Or, rather, what I could do.

I didn't have many options to choose from.

An apology wouldn't work. I already blew the first one, and I knew that a second one would definitely be rendered pointless. Aside from that, I wasn't too keen on the idea of apologizing again. Even if I wanted to, I wasn't about to become a guy who said "_sorry_" for every little thing, and If I were to ever get Bella to be mine– – I had a feeling that I would be apologizing a lot.

My mind flickered back on the thoughts I had just been thinking, and I scowled. Why was I always thinking of getting together with her? Hadn't I just decided that I wouldn't do this anymore? That I wouldn't go after a girl who didn't like me, and had someone else?

I winced at my own thoughts.

Admittedly, I didn't like the idea of her going out with someone else. When I saw her hugging some guy last night, I nearly hopped out of the car and went to punch a whole in his face.

I was so unbelievably pissed, that it was startling. Jealousy was not a familiar feeling for me, and it certainly wasn't one that I felt I could control. Thinking of her in the arms of that guy kept me awake for nearly half the night. Before I could even stop myself, I kept on wondering if _he_ were _Jacob._ If the reason she kept on glancing at her watch last night, and was so intent on leaving, was because she had a date with _him._

And then, of course, I remembered the kiss. Well, at least _that_ was a bonus. After nearly an hour of inner debates, last night I came to the conclusion that the kiss was _not _an "spur-of-the-moment" thing, but more of an impulse. I wanted to kiss her, and since she had been so close, I did.

It was Bella's response to the kiss that left be utterly clueless. Why _had_ she kissed me back? Was it an "in-the-moment" thing for _her_? Or was there a possibility that she was attracted to me, at least a little bit?

I grit my teeth together in frustration. Why was I even tormenting myself over this? What was the point? It would have been a wholly other thing if she _didn't _have a boyfriend, but she did….

She did…..

And then Alice's words hit me faster than I could even think.

"_Jake isn't really her boyfriend."_

My eyes opened at wide as Alice's voice came flooding into my head, like an announcement speaker sounding in the halls. I sat up, and pressed my eyes closed, so that I could remember what else she had said about _them_.

"_And in a few more months, they really will be together."_

"That's it!" I shot up from my bed, and started pacing around my room, completely in thought, "they aren't really together…_yet."_ But that also meant that I had time.

I would have to take back everything negative I said about Alice last night. If Bella and I started talking ever again, I would definitely ask for her address and send her a ridiculously large bouquet of flowers.

I almost started laughing out loud.

How stupid I was, trying to hide behind the understating excuse of being attracted to Bella. This was more… much, much more– – and I didn't realize it until I had almost completely messed it up between the two of us, and had realized that I wasn't too late. I _liked_ Bella. I liked her a lot.

And I _was_ going to make her mine.

The only problem was _how. _

I continued pacing back and forth, when my cell-phone suddenly began to ring.

I grabbed it, annoyed by the sudden distraction, and flipped it open, placing it on my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Edward, right?"

"Yeah. What's up, Emmett?

"Listen," my half-brother, Emmett, started from the other line, "Rose and I were going out to have dinner tonight, and I wanted to know if you and Tanya were interested in coming."

That was the last thing I wanted to do. It was bad enough that I agreed to have lunch with her, knowing full-well that she would talk non-stop about the modeling. If we were to go out with others, she would do all in her power to make sure that I had been completely flaunted, and recognized as '_hers_'.

"I don't think I'm really up to it, Em."

"Aw, come on! _Please _don't do this to me, bro! James is coming with Victoria, and I really don't wanna be left alone with James. You know I cant stand that guy!"

If Victoria was going, then Rose– – Emmett's drop-dead-gorgeous- girlfriend– – would be talking to her all night long. I knew that Emmett hated James; they've never gotten along since the beginning of High School. It wasn't that I was particularly close with the guy, either. If anything, I thought James was a total ass. He was a real jerk; cheated on Victoria countless times. It wasn't as if I never fooled around with anyone while I dated Tanya, but at least I was subtle about it. James was a conceited, attention starved and competitive fruit cake, and he did nothing to hide it. I, at least, could tolerate the stupid bastard. Emmett, on the other hand, could not– – and with him being a 6'7'' guy with biceps larger than my head, it was _extremely _dangerous for them to be alone together.

"Fine," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose unconsciously, "I'll be there."

Emmett let out a sigh of relief, " Thanks, man. I don't wanna go to jail, yet."

I couldn't help but grin when I thought of Emmett beating the hell out of James for saying something crappy– – as he so often did.

"I'll come pick you up at your place around seven." He said, and the line went silent from his end.

Though I wasn't really in the mood to deal with Tanya, or James for that matter, I did enjoy hanging out with Emmett and his girlfriend. Emmett was hilarious. He made me laugh, but in a different way than Bella did. He was more open and aloof; The total jock-type. A lot of people thought he was intimidating and stupid, and intimidating he was, but he certainly wasn't an idiot.

Like Tanya, Emmett _chose _when to act smart. His reasoning is simple, and he looks at everything from a different, and almost optimistic, view than others, so they often take him as a complete moron.

Rosalie Hale, on the other hand, was absolutely brilliant. Not only was she possibly the sexiest woman on this planet– – with long, blonde hair, slender legs, mesmerizing blue eyes and a perfect hour-glass figure– – but she was also a lawyer. If I would have known that Harvard harbored woman that looked like _her_, I would have definitely applied there. And I had no doubt that I would have been accepted, either.

I plopped back down on my bed, and ran my fingers through my hair. With my attention back on the issue– – or solution– – with Bella, I was starting to get frustrated. Now that I knew I still had a chance with her, I was at a loss as to how to handle that chance. I could go to the agency, but I didn't want to risk her calling security on me.

I chucked involuntarily when I imagined her expression if I were to just suddenly walk into her office, after what had happened last night.

I had to see her. For the time being, I would leave all other issues like Tanya aside– – and only focus on how I should go about doing whatever it is that I was going to do.

My lack of unorganized planning was irritating me even further.

When almost ten minutes of pointless, nugatory thinking had gone by, my cell-phone suddenly started ringing again.

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed it from beside me. What could he want this time?

"What is it now, Emmett?" I nearly snapped– – the aftermath of the last ten minutes spent in frustration.

I waited and waited, but no one had said anything for what felt like a whole minute.

Thinking that he had probably hung up, I asked, carefully, "Emmett?"

And my mouth dropped open as a female's voice came flooding into my ear.

"Cullen, It's Bella."


	10. The girlfriend

_**Edward.**_

"Bella?" I breathed, uncertainly.

I was well aware that my brain was not functioning, as I waited for her response. I was even beginning to believe that my own mind was playing tricks on me. Bella, the woman who I had just been ardently torturing myself over for the past many hours, had called me? Was it really her? And if so, what did she want?

At that thought, my mind wandered over the possibility that she could have called to fire me. Could you really do that over the phone? Even so, It wouldn't be unexpected. It took everything I had to not hang up on her at the moment– – to delay the end of our almost non-existent relationship.

'_Don't assume,'_ I repeatedly reminded myself, holding on to the last strand of hope that I had left– – which wasn't, ironically, very long to begin with. This sudden call didn't necessarily have to be the thing that would put a hold to my current career, and an end to the relationship with the first woman I had ever felt anything real for. To the first woman who I had ever seriously liked so much.

"Cullen," Bella's voice sounded, "we need to talk." Shit. I wanted nothing more than to just to snap the phone shut, and– – like a child– – ignore her for as long as I could. Everyone knew that when a person said this to the person they were dating, it was basically the precedent to "Let's break up". And, in our case, it was the prelude to, "You're fired". It was all the same to me.

"About what?" I asked, innocently, trying to be coy.

Bella sighed from the other line, over what I assumed was impatience, and continued, "Let's meet up."

_Okay… so it would be a face-to-face break-up, after all. Great._

"Where and when?" I couldn't help but ask, all the while my strand of hope was diminishing before my very eyes.

"Um…how about over dinner?"

I felt my eyes probe open wide, and my eyebrows pulled together involuntarily. Over dinner? Couldn't her office suffice?

My thoughts drifted back to last night, on the cow-intestine incident, and I raised an eyebrow. _Payback?_

"Sure?" My hesitation turned my consent into a question.

"Alright, then. What do you say to the Giovanni's by the port?"

I frowned at the sudden feeling of De ja vu, at the mention of that restaurant.

"Sure."

"I'll be there at seven," Bella promised, before her line was disconnected.

It wasn't until the phone began to beep, when I finally shut the cell closed. I jumped back into my bed, and tossed the small, black object onto the couch across the room.

Like a video cassette, I thought back to the phone call, mentally rewinding mine and Bella's previous conversation. It had been extremely blunt, and right to the point. Bella called, said the four most tragic and assuming words possible, asked to meet me for dinner, and then hung up. Though the call itself had been short– – no more than a measly three minutes– – it had such an extreme impact on me, that I was seriously feeling nervous.

I didn't understand why she insisted on "talking"– – I nearly rolled my eyes– – at a restaurant, instead of the privacy of her office. Was she frightened that I would blow my top, and might even harm her, if we were alone while she fired me? I scowled at the thought.

Sighing, I buried my face back into my pillow, and continued to think. I didn't understand her tone, either. Bella sounded slightly… nervous, and I couldn't help but think back to my initial supposition of harming her. Even without proof of this being the case, I started to get angry. Could she have really thought that? It was no lie that I didn't have the best personality, or anything close to one, but I would never lay a hand on a woman.

I shook my head furiously, trying to push away the thought, and then plopped up from my bed. Dragging my feet, I walked across the room, towards the plump, black loveseat couch, and retrieved my phone from between two cushions.

Sighing once again, I flipped open the phone and began dialing Emmett's phone number. He would be disappointed, but I would have to cancel our arrangements. On Emmett, and on Tanya, as well.

_**Bella.**_

I, Isabella Marie Swan, was a complete and total idiot.

Burying my head into my hands, I sighed heavily, thinking over the short conversation that Cullen and I just had.

What, in Gods name, was wrong with me?

It had taken everything I had to call Cullen– – literally.

After I had left my apartment, I drove to work completely lost in thought. When I thought of what the bastard put me through last night, I wanted nothing more than to just fire him– – rid my hands of anything and everything related to him. It would have been so easy; I was sure that the president, Mr. Hale, would agree to my withdrawal from our "deal", if he knew the circumstances in which he put me under. If worse came to worse, I would just threaten to leave the agency. I was one of the most prominent managers of the company, and there was no doubt that Twilight Runway wouldn't be the same if I left. I had an eye for raw talent, and many personal and advantageous connections, that I prided myself on. Though the means were dirty, Mr. Hale would have to abide by my request. He had no reason not to; I simply didn't deserve the vexatious treatment that I had been enduring since Cullen was assigned to me.

It would have been so easy– – and even so, I still didn't do it. Or, more that I was unable to.

For some odd reason, I was just incapable of rejecting Cullen, and I had an intuitive feeling that I just didn't want Cullen to leave.

When I had finally arrived at work, and locked myself in my office, all I could even think about was the galling ache I felt when I thought of Cullen leaving Twilight Runway. Of him going to another agency. Of him being assigned to someone else.

'_But it's only because he's too gorgeous to let someone else manage him,'_ I told myself, sternly. Really, what other reason could I have to keep him? Though he was san obnoxious jerk, he was far too beautiful to allow him to slip away. I would wait until his first gig, which now stood less than two days away, to witness how he fared. Whether or not he continues as my model for the remaining two and a half months would depend on his results.

I almost felt guilty about that. Cullen was a complete amateur; He hadn't even participated in modeling classes yet, and here I was basing his career on his first photo shoot. It wasn't as if he could flawlessly accomplish a perfect job all at once, and especially not at his first shoot. Even Jacob struggled at first. Of course, temper-wise, Jake was much easier to handle.

I had finished up all of my paperwork and phone calls half-heartedly, and, before I could put it off any longer, decided to call Cullen. I would give him one last chance, and that was it. That was all I could tolerate.

I dialed his number from my cell, and sighed deeply. Why I had been so nervous over a mere phone call, was beyond me. Even when I tried to calm myself, my fingers still continued to thrum impatiently on my desk– – my nails causing a loud clank sound.

When the ringing finally came to a stop, I was completely taken aback at the sound of someone snapping, "What is it now, Emmett?"

_Who the hell was Emmett?_

Under normal circumstances, I would have hung up in assumption that I had dialed the wrong number. I would have, if I had not known that it was Cullen. There was no way I would ever be able to mistake his perfect, velvet voice. Though it was edged with annoyance, it was still so beautiful– – just like him. Even when angered, Cullen sounded disbelievingly sexy. His laughter could only be related to musical wind chimes, and his chuckles were feathery-light sounds of bells. My thoughts traveled back to the last night, when we were in the car… and the way he breathed my name in my ear…was so….

I made an inward gasp, as I returned to reality, and shook my head feverently. What was I thinking? Or beginning to think, for that matter?

Forcing myself to speak, I was only able to voice out three short words; "Cullen– " my heart almost thumped at the name, "– – it's Bella."

There was a long pause, until Cullen's voice sounded my name in obvious incredulity, "Bella?"

I almost pinched myself when I compulsorily smiled at the way he breathed my name.

"Cullen, we need to talk." I said. I almost laughed aloud at how much it sounded like an obvious break-up starter.

"About what?" I actually frowned at his question. He sounded so innocent, as if there could be no possible reason for me calling him, that I wanted to snap right then and there, 'About you being removed from my care'. I wanted to, but, naturally, I didn't. I couldn't.

"Let's meet up." I suggested. It was better than talking over the phone.

"Where?" '_At my office, obviously_,' is what I _should_ have said– – what I _wanted_ to say– – but my mouth had other idea's, and my reply almost knocked me off my chair.

"How about over dinner?" As the words flew out my mouth, I wanted to pull my hair in aggravation. What did having dinner have to do with anything? It wasn't needed! It would be much better to speak in the privacy of my own office, instead of some restaurant that would be overpopulated with people and crowded with surveying witnesses, in the presumption that Cullen make any irksome comments, and I would impulsively hit him.

What had surprised me most of all, was my suggestion to his agreement, "Alright, then. What do you say to Giovanni's by the Port?"

There was another pause, until Cullen consented. I quickly told him what time to meet me, and then hung up quickly, before I could say something else that I was sure to regret.

Gripping the phone tightly, I sighed again. When I thought back on the conversation, it sounded as if I were going to break up with him in the beginning, and then ended with me sounding like I was asking him out. Just wonderful. Not only were both of these coincidences implying, but there were dead wrong, as well. You can't end something that never was, and you cant start something that could never be.

Not that I wanted anything, of course.

I stared down at the phone that was suffocating in my tight grip, and snapped it open. In less than a five seconds, I had already inputted the number of the person who I was going to call; Jacob.

I pressed talk, and brought the phone up to my ear, pulling the strands of loose hair that hung to the side of my face out of the way, and behind my ear. If I was going to have dinner with Cullen tonight, then I would have to tell Jacob that I couldn't meet him. It was for work, after all– – there was nothing I could do about it.

"Hello?" Jakes' voice sounded from the other line.

I bit my lip consciously, before answering him– – feeling completely guilty, and not for the reasons that I should have.

"It's Bella, Jake."

I felt guilty. Severely guilty. And it was because, in all honesty, I didn't feel very guilty for cancelling on him.

It was exactly 6:30 p.m. when I finally reached _Giovanni's_. The drive itself was short– – less than 45 minutes, but would have, undoubtedly, been much shorter if I had not driven like a turtle, while completely lost in thought. That, and if I hadn't been stuck in traffic for over fifteen long minutes.

I parked the car across the street from the wide, elegant restaurant, and scanned the small amount of people that flooded the area before the restaurant's doors.

Cullen was nowhere in sight.

Before I could get annoyed at him for making me wait, I had to remind myself that it was I who was a half-hour early. Regardless, I was freezing cold. Though the stupid weatherman had assured everyone in freaking Seattle that tonight would reach a cool temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, it was still bizarrely nippy. Even my teeth were chattering! I wrapped my arms over my chest, mentally cursing myself for not bringing a sweater, and leaned against the side of my car. I could have sat in my car, in the comfort of the heaters' warmth, but I chose not to– – for fear that my thoughts would reel completely out of control, as it so often did. In the end, I decided that I would rather brave the cold, than to let my thoughts obsess over Cullen. The cold was preferable, in comparison.

Despite the fact that my mind had been completely elsewhere today, I somehow managed to finish up all of the day's work early. By the time I had finally made it home, it was already nearing 6:00 p.m. I dressed quickly; slipping on something as common a pair of white jeans, and a dark blue turtle neck. I had pulled my hair into a tidy, low-tied pony tail, and applied nothing more than lip-gloss on, from the make-up department. I had already started to feel better.

Jeans were, by far, the most comfortable thing to wear– – aside from sweats. And since the restaurant itself was "_normal_", I didn't have to dress up in anything that I did not like. Besides, I always felt more confident, or as much as I could be, when I wore clothes to my liking.

With a pair of small silver hoops, a thin necklace with a white crimson hanging on the bottom, and a pair of black dress flats– – I felt almost great. I would have felt much better, however, if I hadn't been an idiot and forgotten, once again, to bring a sweater.

Shivering again, I bit my bottom lip to prevent my teeth from chattering, and glanced down at the thin, silver watch on my left hand. It read 6:40 p.m.. Wonderful.

A silver car suddenly pulled up in front of me, and its parking lights flashed on. I turned my head and noticed that the red car that had previously been parked behind my grey Prius, was gone. In the next instant, the silver one had taken its place.

I couldn't help but marvel at the silver Volvo that stood only feet from where I was. I wasn't a total car freak, but I did have my share of knowledge of cars, as well a slight interest in them.

The Volvo itself was beautiful; With a shiny exterior, and stainless, tinted windows. There was no sign of even a slight blemish on the car, and the tires looked to be brand new. Whoever drove that thing must have either just recently purchased it, or took care of it with care equivalently suited to that of a child.

When the door of the silver car suddenly flew open, I quickly turned my head away from it, hoping that the driver didn't notice my blatant staring.

"Bella?" A velvet voice called.

My head shot up, and in the direction of the sound. I had to purse my lips together so that my mouth wouldn't drop open, at the sight of Cullen closing the door of the same silver car that I had been so shamelessly staring at. It was simply ironic. Leave it to God to let the same car that I had been ogling, belong to the same guy who I constantly ogled on many occasions.

"Hi, Cullen," I responded, not daring for the blush of me, to look up into Cullen's eyes as he came walking over, "shall we go then?"

Without looking up at him, I started walking towards the front of the restaurant. I was certain , despite the warmth that I felt on my face, that I would turn to ice if I continued to stand outside for even another minute. When I was nearly a few feet from the restaurant's doors, a sudden burst of brisk wind gushed at me, and I froze involuntarily. Before anything, I heard myself gasp from the 'impact' of the wind against my thin clothes, and my body started to tremble uncontrollably. That is, until something warm suddenly fell over my shoulders.

I stared down at the tanned cloth that enveloped me, and turned my face towards the person who had put it on me.

Cullen.

"I can't," I felt like a complete idiot. Though it had only been on my shoulders for less that a minute, I had already started to get warm. But I couldn't leave Cullen without a jacket, either. It was freezing… and I would only feel guilty for it, "you're cold, too."

For the first time since he arrived, I looked into his eyes– – and Gosh, I wish I hadn't. His eyes were smoldering me completely. I was being dazzled.

I couldn't look away.

My breath was caught in my throat, and my heart began to pound against my chest. Why was he so beautiful? I couldn't take my eyes off of him. If I hadn't known better, I would have figured that the being before me was nothing less of than a God.

His cheeks were slightly pink from the cold, and his usual messy hair was even more disheveled, due to the Ambient winds that bitterly encircled us. My eyes, though slightly reluctant, left his face, and wandered down his body. Even in normal clothes, Cullen looked utterly erotic! He wore a black long sleeved, V-neck fleece shirt, and light blue jeans that stopped just below his knees– – having been pulled into a pair of long black boots. Everything fit his body perfectly. The thin sweater was tight against his figure, and it complimented his curves beautifully. It should really be illegal for people to look so good.

After I finished marveling his body, my eyes– – once again– – made it to his perfect face. To his perfect eyes.

They were a brighter color today; closer to green than its usual hazel sheen.

I knew I should have looked away. It was inappropriate and, suggestively, improper for me to "check out" my model. It was wrong, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the beauty of him. And, to be quite honest, I didn't want to.

"Bella?" Cullen's voice broke through the spell that his eyes had cast on me, and I blinked repeatedly, trying to return to the world.

_What had I been saying again?_

I looked back down at the tan jacket that was wrapped over my shoulders, and nodded in realization. _The jacket. Couldn't wear it. Right._

"Sorry, I was out of it," I muttered, slowly pulling the jacket off me.

Before it was even removed an inch from my body, I felt Cullen's hands over my own. I shuddered at the perturbing sweet contact.

"Don't be hard headed," his voice was smooth. Cullen returned the soft material to the place it originally was– – over my shoulders– – and continued, "You're freezing."

I scrunched my eyebrows together, "You must be freezing, too!"

Cullen let out a slightly reserved chuckle, and shook his head, "Not at all."

From the pink blush on his cheeks, I didn't believe him at all. I scrutinized his face, looking for any traces or hints of him lying, but sighed when I found none, other than the sudden rosy shade of his complexion.

"Fine," I muttered. My tone was reluctant, but my true feelings thought otherwise.

A small smirk crossed over Cullen's face, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. _Cocky brat…._

Cullen and I walked into the restaurant, and decided on a seat farthest to the back. We needed privacy, or as much as we could get, anyways, at such a bustling place.

The restaurant itself was just as I remembered it from my high school days. Though I had only been there once, with my two high school friends– – Angela Webber and Jessica Stanley– – It still looked exactly the same; that, I was sure of.

It was the simplicity of it that made me like it so much. It looked like one of the many diners I visited in Italy a year ago, however, never overstepped it's classy boundaries. The service, too, were exquisite, and the dishes were even better.

"Did you have trouble finding this place?" I asked, as we were seated.

The restaurant wasn't particularly cold, but I was still feeling chilled from my previous endeavor with the brisk winds outside. I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the jacket, and tugged the font of it closer to my chest.

It was large, but it still seemed as if it fit perfectly. That, and it smelled simply wonderful. I made a mental note to find out what brand of cologne he used.

"No, I've been here a few times with my brother and his friends."

"Oh?" I inquired, curiously, "Brother?"

Cullen nodded, but didn't look up from his entwining fingers, "Yeah. I have an older half-brother."

I suddenly recalled the previous phone call with Cullen, and I couldn't stop myself from blurting out, "Is his name Emmett?"

Cullen's eyes opened wide, and his head shot up. His expression was clouded in pure surprise, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"How do you know his name?" So I was right. That was his brother.

"Earlier today… on the phone… you thought I was Emmett. It was just an assumption, on my part."

Edward continued to look at me curiously, and then he suddenly smiled.

I hated that smile. It was breathtaking.

"Yeah, that's him. I was kind of annoyed, and I figured it was him since he had called me right before you did. Sorry about that."

I shook my head, as if to tell him that there was no harm done, and continued, "Half brother?"

Edward nodded, and I was almost impressed by the levity of our current conversation. We were straying so far from our meetings intention, but I couldn't help but feel a bit grateful for it. To be honest, I didn't know how to tell him what I wanted to. _"Cullen, you're a complete jerk and all, but I decided to give you another chance since you're so unbelievable hot that it's not even funny. Don't mess up this time, okay?"_ Yeah, that sounded fantastic.

"Mm," he confided, "my father remarried when I was young."

I shouldn't have asked, it was rude of me to probe, but the words were out before I could even stop them, "What happened to your mother?"

Cullen looked completely taken aback by my question, and I immediately regretted asking it.

I pressed my lips tightly together, and mentally scolded myself. Why did I ask such an obviously personal question? Was Cullen mad at me now? He had behaved like a perfect gentleman this whole time, and I just had to go and ruin it.

"She died when I was still a child."

I looked up at him, astonished that he had actually answered my question.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, mentally kicking myself.

"No, it's alright. I love my new mother."

There was no hint of sadness in Edward's tone at all, and I couldn't help but return his smile. He truly did love her.

Before we could say anything else, we were abruptly brought back from our conversation by a females voice.

"Hello," I looked up to see a very pretty blonde woman, with large blue eyes, holding two thick menu's in her arms, "my name is Anne, and I will be your waitress for tonight."

She placed my menu in front of me, before handing Cullen his.

"I already know what I want," Cullen suddenly said. He then looked at me, as if asking if I, too, were ready, and turned to the waitress when I nodded, "We'll be ordering now, then."

Seeing his face for the first time, the woman's eyes opened to a whole other level. A smile suddenly lit up her face, and I was unsure if it was intentional or not.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat in an attempt to gain her attention away from the beautiful object of it.

As if realizing that she had been staring, the woman blushed furiously, and hurriedly grabbed the two menus from the table, before pulling out a note book and a pen, "What will you be having?"

She had a talent for sounding meek, at least.

"I'll be having an order of Penne a la Karen, with a Stromboli on the side." She jotted down my order quickly, and then turned her attention back to Cullen.

"And you, sir?" I noticed the slight flirtatious edge to her voice, and scowled.

"Chicken parmesan over pasta, with Alfredo sauce on the side. I would also like a small garden salad, without croutons, and with Caesar dressing, instead of French."

She nodded slowly, and then smiled a brilliant smile, before leaving to register out orders.

I took back everything I said about this place having good service.

"Is there something wrong?" Cullen suddenly asked, a smirk on his face.

Realizing that I probably still wore an ugly expression, I tried to calm myself, and hoped that my face, too, had relaxed.

"No, nothing," I started leaning back into the soft chair. It was now or never. The conversation had already digressed too far. This wasn't a date– – my lips twitched at the corners– – and I couldn't let it play out as one, "Cullen, let's get back to our reason for meeting here."

Cullen's smirk vanished from his face in an instant, and his hands tightened on the edge of the table.

"Last night was… well, completely horrible," Cullen was staring at me so intensely, it was almost hard for me to speak. Almost. "Your behavior and attitude towards me was completely uncalled for. It cannot be held against me for wanting to remove you from my management."

His eyes hardened, and I continued, "Even with the events that took place yesterday, I, however, decided to permit you one final chance."

Before his expression had a chance to fully change, I added, "I think you will make a good model. You certainly have the looks, but your personality, however…" A large smile spread across Cullen's face, and I had to refrain from smiling along with him. His grins were so absurdly infectious, "There will be conditions, however."

Cullen took no time to ask, "What conditions?"Good. He was eager. "You still have a photo shoot with 'Spell' in two days. The results of that gig will be your evaluation. If you are able to handle that shoot, and if you change that irritating character of yours, then I will disregard yesterday completely, and will continue to manage you." For the remainder of the two and a half months, anyways.

I wasn't surprised to see that Cullen's impervious smile didn't falter in the least. Confident bastard….

"Bella," I looked up at the sound of my name being called. Cullen was leaning towards me dangerously close, and I felt myself gulp, "Thank you."

It took everything I had just to breathe. It took even more to retort, "Don't thank me yet. This is your last chance, so don't screw it up, alright?"

Cullen nodded, clearly not despondent, and sat back into his seat.

I was finally able to breathe.

The remainder of the night was, if anything, extremely fun. We talked a lot, about random things. I found out that his father was a doctor, and his step mother, Esme, was an interior designer. He told me about his brother, Emmett, and his girlfriend, Rosalie, who I found out was the daughter of the president of Twilight Runway– – small world, huh? I also found out that Cullen, to my surprise and– – admittedly, great pleasure– – could play the piano.

"I started playing when I was three," he had told me, when the stupid waitress finally left us alone to eat, "and ever since, I've absolutely loved it."

When I had asked him why he didn't become a pianist or something, he simply shrugged, and said, " It's not something that I would want to be paid for. I play only for my own self interest. It's a hobby of sorts, and I don't intend take it very far."

I couldn't help but feel that it was such a waste. Playing the piano was no easy task. I would know– – I quit lessons only after a week having started them. It was difficult, time consuming, and painstakingly boring. I wondered if Cullen was able to play good. And those thoughts led to the mental question of why he decided to become a model? I, however, decided not to ask that.

When he had finally had enough of discussing himself, we began talking about me. We followed the same routine; he asked questions and I answered them. He wanted to know about my parents, Renee and Charlie, and where they lived. I told him that they both lived in Forks, and that my father was the Chief of Police of that town, and my mother was a freelance writer. I told him about my childhood, and how unbelievably clumsy I had been, even as a child. That brought on a whole new conversation of accidents that happened to me when I still lived in Forks.

"I once fell off a cliff down at La Push reservation in Forks," I told him, confidently, "and straight into the ocean nearly 100 feet down below." Cullen's eyes had opened so wide, that I was sure that they would have popped open at any moment.

I admitted, to my great embarrassment, that I spent the majority of my childhood in the hospital.

"Two broken legs, a broken wrist and ankle, a broken toe, four broken fingers and a fist," I boasted about my most painful past accidents as if I were proud of them, "a dislocated shoulder, and some major burns, twists, sprains ands bruises. I'm grateful that I'm even alive."

With each broken piece of my body mentioned, Cullen would consciously wince. I enjoyed watching his expression. They were classic!

"How about you?" I asked him, when our empty plates were taken away by Anne, and our desert was delivered to us, "You don't seem like the clumsy type, but every kid's had their share of incidents."

Cullen chuckled at my question, and answered, "Yeah. Only once, though."

I was surprised that he'd only been in an accident once. Was that even possible? It certainly wasn't, for me., anyway.

"When I was around ten… my brother and I made a bet on who could climb one of the trees in our backyard, faster."

I had to clamp my mouth shut so that I wouldn't laugh. I knew exactly where this was headed.

"When I finally reached the very top, I startled a bird that was nesting on the tip of the tree, and it suddenly started flying around my head. The next thing I remembered was that I was in the hospital, completely aching all over. The bushes helped cushion my fall, but I still somehow managed to break my leg. All of that didn't matter, of course. I was far to smug over the fact that Emmett got in trouble."

I couldn't help but laugh when Cullen suddenly started to snicker, as if he were watching those past events play out in his head. It was even more hilarious when admitted to having a fear of birds.

We ate dessert quickly, since it had already started to get late, and paid the bill even quicker. I desired nothing more than to just take the stupid waitress by her hair, and smash her face right into the remnant pieces of chocolate cake from my dessert plate.

Couldn't she see that Cullen was with me? Even if it was nothing more than just a business meeting, it wasn't as if she knew that. For all she knew, I could have been his girlfriend, but she chose to ignore the suggestive implicitness of our meeting, and continued to batter her eyes at him.

My eyes narrowed at her of their own volition.

Cullen paid for the entire bill, despite my hard-headed refusal to allow him to pay for me, and we made a start for the door.

Taking the role of the total gentleman, he opened the doors for me, and I couldn't help but smile at his sudden approach at "behaving". I giggled, tightened Cullen's jacket over my body to brace myself for the cold weather I knew awaited me outside, and brushed past him in high spirits. Tonight had been completely wonderful. It was… way more than just fun. I enjoyed myself far more than I had in a long time. There was something about Cullen that just felt right. We clicked– – when he wasn't being a total ass, of course– – in a way that was rare for me. I wasn't the type to become attached to a person, especially towards one who initially irritated me as much as Cullen had, but I was truly becoming attached to him. I knew that there was another reason for me wanting to keep him under my management, aside from previous excuse of him being drop-dead gorgeous. That, too, was one of the reasons, but there was something more than that.

I truly didn't want Cullen to leave. I wanted him near me. I was beyond comfortable with him, and– – to be absolutely honest– – I didn't want to throw that away. Not just yet, anyways.

This sudden realization surprised me immensely. I barely knew the guy, for chrissake, and yet, I knew that we were going to be more than just model and manager. I had many chances to fire Cullen in the past two weeks that I had known him, and many reasons to as well. To put it simply; he was a jerk. The majority of what came out of his mouth made me want to stab him in the head with a pen, and sometimes, his actions were even worse. He was bothersome– – always insisting on following me around everywhere and hanging out in my office. I had seriously considered killing him. But even so, I had never rejected his advances to hang around me. I allowed him to follow me around, regardless of how irksomely annoying he was.

It was unusual of me to get into a friendly relationship with one of my models, but I couldn't push aside the feeling that Cullen and I could possibly end up like me and Jacob– – only without the romance, of course. And of course, considering just how much of his personality he was willing to change.

I stepped out of the restaurant, with Cullen close behind me, and nearly bumped into someone in front of me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, steadying myself from the impact. I looked up, hoping to apologize once more to the person who I had nearly sent spiraling to the floor, and was completely taken aback at the sight of a pair of venomous eyes spitefully staring at me.

"Who the _hell_ are _you_?" The blonde woman snapped, furiously, looking as if she was ready to the hell was she talking about? "And what the hell are you doing with my boyfriend?"

Now I was even more confused. Was this lady off her rocker or something? She must have been, because she was speaking absolute nonsense.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," I snapped at her as she took a step towards me, "But I suggest you back away before I start getting angry."

The woman, however, didn't heed my threat. She took another step forward, looking about ready to strike me, and I parted my legs apart, ready to take her on. Was she a psycho? The last time I checked, people just don't randomly pick fights with other people for no god damn apparent reason.

"Listen, you little– – " before another word could come out of the blonde's mouth, Cullen suddenly stepped between us.

"Tanya," Cullen sighed monotonously, "could you please stop this?"

_Tanya_? The name sounded extremely familiar…

"Stop what, Edward," Tanya snapped, "Stop questioning that damn woman?"

"Tanya," Cullen warned, his voice becoming thick with force, "Relax yourself and listen…"

_Oh! Tanya was Cullen's girlfriend…_

"Do not tell me to relax, Edward," She hissed, bravely, "when I see you leaving a restaurant with another woman, right after you cancelled on me."

I shouldn't have, but I felt slightly smug.

"And me," I heard someone mutter from behind Tanya. I peeked over Edwards shoulder, and noticed that there were a group of four people behind her. They must have came with Tanya.

As a manager for models, I couldn't help but evaluate them. The first who grabbed my attention, was am extremely tall guy with frightening large muscles. Despite his massive body size, he had a natural baby face. He was simply gorgeous, and I couldn't help but picture him on the cover of some sports magazine, clad in nothing more than a skimpy pair of Speedo's.

The man who stood next to him was also extremely handsome, with long blonde hair and sharp features. He was, however, far too short. I secretly wished that the big one could give a few inches of his height to him.

The woman who stood beside the blonde, was also very pretty. She was about an inch shorter than the guy who I assumed was her date, and had fiery red hair and green eyes. She was pretty, but she completely lacked the raw feel of a model. In other words; I couldn't ever use her.

The red-head, however, was nothing compared to the beauty beside her. I recognized her at once, as Rosalie Hale; the daughter of Twilight Runway's president. I had seen Rosalie only a few times since I had joined the company. We weren't really friends, but since she knew Alice well, and we had become acquaintances over the past few years. I was still surprised that she was the Rosalie who dated Cullen's brother.

"Listen, Tanya," Cullen argued, impatiently, " Nothing is going on– – "

"Edward, don't you dare tell me that nothing is going on, when that little witch over there is wearing the coat that I bought for you."

I felt my eyes open wide as the origin of Cullen's coat was sounded before me.

My lips dropped down into a scowl, and I restrained myself from throwing the damn coat at her just to shut her the hell up. The jacket that had once felt so warm, was suddenly cooling as Cullen and Tanya's argument dragged on. I was beginning to think that I would have been warmer without the thing.

"What good freaking reason could you possibly have to cancel with me, to meet some other woman?" Tanya basically shouted. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Was she the type of girl that Cullen really liked? I was beginning to pity Cullen more and more.

"She's my manager, Tanya!"

I suppressed a smirk as Tanya's open mouth snapped close, and she frowned, "What do you mean?"

Cullen sighed in frustration, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, "She's my modeling manager. You know, the one who'll be getting me all of my jobs. Thank you very much for attacking my boss, by the way."

Cullen' voice was thick with anger and heavy sarcasm. I didn't know what to assume– – Was this a normal thing, or not? Tanya acting like a suspicious leech, I mean.

"Then… why is she so young?" Tanya asked, still disbelieving.

Cullen, obviously annoyed, snapped, "Rose is only twenty-three and she's already head of her firm."

I almost laughed when I saw Tanya's eyes narrow in disbelief, "Then why is she wearing your jacket?"

'_You're clutching at straws'_, I nearly sang aloud.

"It's freezing out here and she forgot to bring one of her own. Should I be arrested now?"

Tanya was clearly taken aback by Edwards bored expression and tone, but she continued, nevertheless.

"God, Edward, you were having dinner for chrissake! At a restaurant!"

I literally had to bite back a laugh, but a snort still managed to escape. Where else would be having dinner?

Tanya glared at me from behind Cullen, and though I couldn't see his face, I knew– – from the edge of humor in his tone– – that he found it funny, as well.

"We needed to discuss some things, but Bella only had the evening available. Seeing as how it's this late, don't you think that it's understandable for us to get dinner?"

Ok, that was stretching it a bit far, but I wasn't going to blow up his spot. In all honesty, I wanted Cullen to just walk away. Why did he have to explain things to her. I– – for some unknown reason– – wanted him to just simply tell her "it's none of your business", and just leave. But I knew that was impossible. She was his girlfriend. Not me. If our positions had been switched, and Tanya had been Jacob– – not that Jake would ever dream of humiliating me the way Tanya did Cullen, I wouldn't want Cullen to intervene in my explanation. Cullen would have had to stay quiet. It wasn't his business, after all. Just like, now, it wasn't mine.

"Oh, god… Edward…" Tanya finally cried. I didn't believe that she was actually crying, until I saw real and actual tears running down her face.

My jaw dropped as she ran up to Cullen, and wrapped her arms around him, "Edward… I'm so sorry, baby…" she a little….!

I heard Cullen sigh, and all I wanted to do was grab the little wench off of him. It was obvious to see that she was just a lying hussy! How could one be some cruelly accusing one second, and then so emotional the next? It was an act! Cullen was being deceived!

Cullen's arms remained in the air, as if he didn't know where to put them, and all I could think about was him pushing her away. I was pissed; how could he fall for such a woman?

Before I could even think anything else, I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked up, back to the annoying couple in front of me, and nearly growled when I saw Tanya sneering at me from above Cullen's shoulders. Her expression clearly read something along the lines of, "You-can-get-lost-now, Bimbo".

'_Don't do it'_, I warmed myself, '_Don't grab her by her hair and bash her face into the pavement… Don't…_'

I told myself this, but I wanted to do it, so bad.

And since I couldn't, I settled on the next best thing.

I slipped the jacket off from over my shoulders, shivered slightly from the sudden feel of ice-like wind against me, and walked over to Cullen and Tanya.

As I passed them, I slapped the jacket sharply in Tanya's face, fully aware that I had also hit Cullen's head– – not that I minded much, of course– – and called out before I could hear Tanya's screeching yells, "You should really let someone else buy your jacket's, Cullen. That one is seriously ugly."

I walked over to my car quickly, ignoring Tanya's piercing squawks and the unfamiliar sound of booming laughter, and slid into the drivers seat. Without even bothering to put on my seat belt, I turned the heat on, hit the engine, and sped my way away from the restaurant and towards home.

I felt happy for being able to piss off Cullen's girlfriend so much. Happy, and to my utmost confusion, extremely sick


	11. photo shoot

_**Bella.**_

"Come in!" I yelled from my living room, flipping the channel on the television without even looking up.

It was Saturday morning, around 8:00 o'clock, and Alice had already called earlier to let me know that she would be coming over. Alice was always welcome in my apartment, of course, but I had to admit that I was somewhat reluctant about inviting her– – given the way she behaved last time I saw her.

I heard the door open up, and the locks start to turn, but never once removed my eyes from the screen before me. Was TV always this utterly mundane?

"Good morning, Bella." Alice's voice sang from the across the room.

I scowled at the casualness of her tone, not forgetting her decision to be talkative during dinner two nights ago. If she wanted to try and play innocent, she could act all she wanted. I knew that she knew that I would question her on her actions at dinner. Alice wasn't the blabber-mouthed type, so there had to be _some_ reason for her gossiping attitude before– – and I was going to find out about it.

"Whatcha watching?" Alice asked curiously, plopping herself on the empty sofa seat across from me. Without turning to look at her, I continued flipping through the channels half-heartedly, and blurted out, "Alice, why in Gods' name were you being so talkative at dinner?"

I didn't bother saying anything else, since I knew that Alice understood what I was implying. She was far too observant and smart _not_ to.

Though I had refrained from looking at her all that time, my head suddenly snapped in her direction as the sound of giggles erupted from her small frame.

"Why are you laughing?" I demanded, putting the Television on mute, and finally bringing my eyes to look at her.

I scowled at her meek, impervious expression.

"Are you sure you would like to know?" She inquired, biting back a large smile.

"Yes." I managed to say, without sarcastically retorting. And darn, did I want to!

"Fine then," Alice chirped. I watched impatiently as she slid her purse off her shoulder, along with her extremely flashy looking, yellow jacket, and tossed it onto the cushioned table in front of us. Turning her attention back to me, she started, "Your friend, Edward Cullen, gave me a _feeling_."

And at that, my mouth completely dropped open.

Cullen gave _Alice_ a feeling? I shook my head as if to cast away something so ludicrous, and managed to choke out, "But… what about Jasper?"

Alice appeared taken aback by my question, but laughed as soon as understanding crossed her face, "No, silly! Not like _that. _I had a _feeling_ in a whole different way."

Before I could stop myself, I let out a sigh of relief. In an instant, it felt as if the weight of the world, or at least half of it, had been taken off my shoulders. _Thank God… _

"Feeling relieved?" I heard Alice ask, but I was far too preoccupied with my own realization of what I both felt and thought? Relief? But why would I be relieved that Alice did not like Cullen.

Before my thoughts could get _too_ dangerous, I settled on the conclusion that it would have caused problems for me. Alice was my best friend, after all, and she was great when she wasn't being weird. Cullen, on the other hand, was my model, and a tactless, obnoxious one at that. It would have pained me to see Alice go after someone as much of a jerk as Cullen was.

_Not to mention that he already had a girlfriend…_

I scowled, as last nights idea made an attempt to invade my brain.

might be beautiful, but he really is a major pain in the ass."

Alice cocked her eyebrow at me, skeptically, and I almost gulped. Her expression seemed to be incredulous, and I was instantly nervous at whatever it was that she was implying.

"So, what kind of feeling did you get?" I asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject back from me to Cullen. Not that that subject was any better, of course.

Alice simply shrugged, and my eyes probed wide at her response, "I had a feeling that you guys were meant for each other, in the way that Jazz and I are."

And God, I wish I could have denied that my heart had secretly fluttered at her words, but it was not so– – my heart was in turmoil over her latest "prediction", and beating like mad.

This time I really gulped, and tried to argue, "What are you talking about, Alice? You know that _that_ wont happen." Of course it wouldn't happen. I couldn't stand Cullen. He was far too wishy-washy for my liking. One day he was a total jerk, making me want to knock him upside his head with the closest, hardest and– – when severely provoked– – sharpest thing I could find. While other days, like last night, he was more natural and fun to be around. Thinking about it now, he may suffer from multiple personality disorder….

Alice raised her eyebrows again, and challenged, "Bella, you know very well that my intuitive _feelings _are almost never wrong."

"Exactly, Alice! _Almost_ never wrong," I knew that I deserved the death glare she shot my way, but I wasn't going to budge. She was speaking nonsense! "But you are completely wrong, now. First off, Cullen drives me crazy. I wouldn't want to be with him even if he was the last person on the face of this Earth," Alice smiled a little at that, but I ignored her and continued, "and secondly; I have Jacob."

This immediately brought the smile off of Alice's face.

"Bella, I told you before, many times in fact, that Jacob isn't the one for you. Yes, he's nice– – but he just isn't the one. You know that what you have for Jacob is nothing more than attraction and some sort of empty obligation as the one who found him, forced him away from home, as pushed him past him limits."

I flinched at Alice's words, but immediately regained composure and snapped back coldly, "Alice, do _not_ define mine and Jacob's relationship to suit your silly whims. There is nothing false about these feelings; I care for Jacob a lot!"

Alice didn't even react to my harsh tone. Instead, she snorted, and said, "Exactly. How many years has it been, and yet all you feel for the boy is "_care"_? Not once in all these years have I ever heard you claim to love Jake."

Once again, I flinched at Alice's words. She was, after all, exactly right. But it wasn't because I didn't love Jake. I did love him… almost as much as I loved Alice. I loved Jake, and I was very much attracted to him– – which was self evident in itself that I loved Jacob in _that_ way as well. I just, for some reason, couldn't say it. Jake had always said it to me, but I always replied with somewhat cruel retorts such as "Mm", "Ditto", "Same here" or, my most famous one, "Right back at ya!". Well, after a while, or about a year to be meticulously exact, he eventually stopped saying it. I knew I loved Jake; that much was not a lie. I just couldn't say it aloud. I don't think I was _ready _to say it aloud.

"We're not even dating yet, Alice! I'm not going to go tell a guy I love him, when we aren't even in a relationship! It's irrational, it's impossible, it's against my religion!"

Alice scrutinized my face, probably searching for any traces of having lied, or at least stretched the truth, within my features– – then sighed from what I assumed was resignation. Of course I wouldn't be lying: Everything I said was true.

"Fine," Alice grumbled unhappily, hopping up from off the couch, "I'll let it go for now. However," she stared at me very intently, with such intense force that I wouldn't have been able to look away, even if I had tried, "I wont back down. I meant every word I said about this_ Edward Cullen_. I really feel that you two fit well with each other, and I trust my intuition completely."

Stopping at that, Alice's face returned to it's normal, bubbly shine, and she smiled broadly while picking up her purse and jacket from the table, "Now let's go. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be late for work."

I sighed, and let Alice pull me up from the sofa. We walked to the door, and I slid on my coat, before taking a quick glace at my reflection in the mirror next to the front door.

As Alice and I walked towards the street, we hugged goodbye before going our separate ways. Once in my car, I exhaled deeply, and clasped the seatbelt over my body. Alice had certainly given me too much info today. I couldn't get her assured words about Cullen and I fitting together out of my head. At the same time, I couldn't stop the guilty feeling that was clawing it's way inside of me when I thought of all the times that Jake had told me he loved me, and I rebuffed his declarations.

I did love Jake, I kept repeating in my thoughts and though it was still unknown to me, I just didn't feel like I should say those three little words to him. In all honesty, it just didn't feel right, and I figured that it was because we were not even dating.

Exhaling even more deeply, I stomped my foot on the gas pedal and pulled out of my parking spot, not providing much attention to the cars directly before and behind me.

I was still at a loss as to why Alice had even come over in the first place.

"We're going to be late!" I snapped at Cullen in a desperate attempt to motivate him into walking faster.

"Don't worry about it," he scoffed at my desperation, refusing to pick up the pace even a little, "we'll be fine."

My mouth dropped open, and I stole a quick glance at my watch which read Ten-thirty-five a.m.. We were still nearly five blocks away from the building where 'Spell' would be holding the photo shoot, and those blocks were not short at all.

"The shoot starts in thirty minutes!" I spat in his direction, ushering him with wavering hands to walk faster. Did he not realize that even if we so happened to make it on time, make-up, hair and getting dressed would take _at least_ an hour?

Cullen abruptly stopped walking, and I almost came crashing into his back.

"W-why'd you stop like that?" I growled, staggering backwards unsteadily.

Cullen slowly turned his head around to look at me, and winked. I felt my teeth gritting together as he casually said, "Don't worry. It'll be fine," all behind an irritating smirk as if he had any basis for his assurance. "_If we're late…."_ I had to shut my eyes tight so that I wouldn't attack Cullen right in the middle of the crowded street, and almost snapped when I opened them to see Cullen walking ahead of me.

_What nerve!_

I followed after him, infuriated to realize that he was still walking at the same speed, and mentally threatened Cullen to the damnest of hell. Wasn't it he who thanked me for giving him another chance? If he believed that I wouldn't fire him if he was late to his first job, then he was highly mistaken. In the back of my head, I was already imagining myself filling out his transfer forms.

The whole walk there, I was refraining from glancing down at my watch. I knew that if I did, I would just go crazy. Cullen couldn't take pictures with a black eye, after all.

Once we made it to the building, I swiftly looked at the time– – ten forty-eight– – and sighed. We made it to the building on time, but we were sure as hell late for his make-up appointment.

I quickly flashed my I.D. and admittance card to the young man at the front desk, grabbed Cullen by the arm– – he wasn't going to walk slow this time– – and fled to the elevator. Luckily, it was already on our floor when we reached it. I pushed Cullen into the glass elevator and hastily pushed the button for the 17th floor, completely ignoring the desperate cries of whoever it was who was too late to reach us on time, before the door closed. Yeah, I would probably feel bad about that later on, but for the time being, I couldn't care less.

Sighing, I turned around and realized that we were in an transparent, all-glass elevator. I walked towards the back of it, and stared in awe at the beautiful city spread out before and under me. Seattle was truly a pretty place.

"Hey, Cullen. Did you see this view?" I shot my head back, with my fingers still pressed upon the glass facing the city and looked at Cullen and frowned.

He had his back facing me and was pressed up so close to the elevators doors, that I was afraid he was going to break right through them.

"Cullen?" I asked, worried at his sudden appearance. He was standing extremely stiff, and breathing rather heavily– – considering that we hadn't even run here.

When he refused to answer me, I stomped up to him, which took me almost ten full steps in such a huge elevator, and grabbed him by his arm– – twirling him around and closer to me.

At the movement, Cullen's eyes probed open wide, and he gasped. My eye brows knitted together as he roughly pulled my arm off of him– – which, admittedly, hurt– – and retreated back to the doors behind him, closing his eyes tightly and breathing heavier.

"Cullen…?" I whispered, even more worried now. What was happening? God, please don't tell me he was having some attack…. .

Before my mind gained its coherency back, a _ding_ sound rang through the elevator, almost making me jump. Cullen, however, had much faster reaction-time than I, and spun out as soon as the gong sounded. The doors hadn't even opened all the way when he slid through a margin, that even I thought impossible to squeeze through, and bolted towards the end of the hall all before I had even managed to step out.

_What just happened?_

I walked towards Cullen hesitantly, as he stood slumped against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and gasped. _So that was it!_

My mind reeled back to our dinner the other day, and Cullen's story of falling out of a tree played itself over in my head, and I almost clapped my hands together in realization. So he was scared of heights!

Biting back the urge to smile at my sudden discovery, I stopped in front of him, and said, "You should have told me you were afraid of heights."

Cullen flinched at my words, and remained silent for a while before answering, "But that's so uncool."

I snorted, and took a step closer to him, "Having a Bird Phobia is _way_ more uncool, I think."

A whole minute passed before a slight grin ran across Cullen's face, and I found myself smiling along with him. His grins really were infectious.

"Come on then," he sighed, pulling himself off the wall, and grabbing me by my wrist, "If we weren't late before, we certainly might be now."

I rolled my eyes, surprised that I didn't feel angry at all, and said, "We were late before. You were just too much in denial to realize it."

Cullen chuckled, and shook his head, "I told you it would be alright, didn't I? Have you no faith in me?"

I cocked a brow at him, and suppressed a smirk._ Trust? In him? Was he crazy?_

"You could at least lie," he pointed out, bending his upper body low so that our faces could be closer, a devilish grin on his face. How could someone look so good…looking so bad?

"I don't like to lie," I told him breathily, as he stepped closer to me.

"Really?" he murmured gently, bringing the hand that wasn't around my wrist, up to my face. I gulped as his fingers touched my cheek to grab what I assumed was a strand of hair, and brushed it behind my ear.

I felt my face heat up.

"There. Much better."

Before I could fall under the power of his magic-casting– – or so I figured– – eyes, I averted my gaze, and wheeled around him. It was no good! I always felt like I was falling when he smoldered me with those unbelievably sexy eyes.

_Falling? Falling for what?_

Before another word could be said, or another thought created, a sudden voice called out from in front of us, and my head jerked up in alarm.

"Edward, darling!" A gorgeous man who looked to be in his late twenties came basically skipping towards us. He was twirling. He was literally twirling!

"God, I've been waiting so long to officially meet you!" The man, who I soon recognized as Ben Cheney, an upcoming fashion designer and photographer, gushed at Cullen.

Cullen merely smiled at him, a polite smile, and said, "The pleasure's all mine."

Ben beamed at him, and sent a wink flying his way, before turning to me and saying, "Hello, Bella. It's a pleasure working with you again."

I nodded, trying to hide my surprise at the man's previous exuberant behavior, and said, "It's you who I am honored to work with. You always handle our models with great care, and bring them onto a whole other level. Twilight Runway appreciates all of your decisions to hold contracts with us."

Ben grinned at me, and said, "Of course! You do covet the gorgeous Jacob Black," he then paused, and backtracked up to Cullen, and wrapped his arms around Cullen's elbows, while squeezing himself tighter to him, "but this guy… he's just _dazzling_. You certainly do have a good eye when it comes to the great ones. I've only seen him in pictures, but now that I see him in the flesh, I can tell you that he's going to hit it big. Perhaps Edward-darling will be even more popular than Black?"

Edwards lips curved into a smile.

And to my surprise– – and utter horror– – mine did as well.

"My God…" I breathed as I watched the an incredible sight before play out before me.

I just couldn't believe my eyes. Was such a thing even possible?

I watched as Cullen alternated different poses and positions, and I couldn't help but stare in awe at the figure of perfection that stood before me.

It was impossible! No human being could look so… completely perfect!

Before the shoot had started, I asked Ben, who still refused to release Cullen from his hold, if we had to time to apply some last minute make-up and accessories. I was astonished when he waved his hand in front of me, nonchalantly, as if brushing away a nonsensical suggestion, and laughed, "Make-up? On his perfect face and skin? I would never!"

I could do nothing more than stare at him with my mouth agape.

"His complexion is marvelous! His eyes are the perfect color, his hair is remarkable! No matter how many professionals we hire, we would never be able to attain such a sexy, disheveled look, and make it seem so natural. Edward-darling is remarkable as he is. All he needs to do is change his clothes, and we're ready to shoot."

And I repeat; All I could do was stare at him with my mouth agape. Like I said, was that even possible?

Ok, so Cullen was unbelievably and inhumanly handsome, but even the most attractive of men needed to be toned up. Even Jake– – with his blemish-less face and even complexion– – needed to be touched up before a shoot. I figured that Ben was just trying to save time. Time was money, after all. I figured that, until I witnessed for myself just how God-like Cullen was on shoot.

If I hadn't been sitting, I was almost positive that my knees would have collapsed. He looked so amazing… so incredible…that I couldn't even put it into words! His body was carved to perfection, and his clothes shaped him all the more. I had to refrain from licking my lips when I saw him walk out in a tight, green turtle-neck shirt, revealing his six pack and large arm muscles, which ran down into a pair of mahogany jeans and stylish black and green shoes. The shirt complimented his eyes to the extreme and would stand out immensely in gray-scale pictures. The pants, which I recognized as "Spells" newest denim-type, tugged nicely at his sides, and even nicer at his rear. In other, non-fashion obsessed and bodily detailed words; He was hot.

I marveled at him, and watched his every move, completely immersed in his features and face. It really was a sin; to look so great. Must the majority of jack asses in the world, look so damn good?

The shoot was going perfectly fine, that is, until the second model made her appearance: Fashion Aries #3 model, Lauren Malory.

I had never had a problem with her before. But of course, before she wasn't clinging her gorgeous body all over my model in front of the camera!

It took everything I had to stay in my seat, so that I wouldn't intrude on the scene and rip her away from him. This was a photo shoot, for chrissake! The theme was 'Sensual pop'– – _Not_ 'Sex on the beach'!

Every time she clung to him, or pressed her body into his, I just wanted to scream. Cullen might have been a bastard, but he certainly didn't deserve to be molested by some skimpy tramp. My scowl deepened until the point that I was frightened it would permanently engrave into my face.

And then Ben's next few words made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"And that's a wrap! Great job, everyone!" he called out, to my supreme happiness.

Even though the words were clearly said, Lauren didn't remove her hands from around Cullen's neck.

I shot up from my seat, fully prepared to pull Cullen away from her, when I suddenly froze. Why was I even getting mad in the first place? So what if some woman was hanging all over him. Why would I be angry about that?

I continued to stay lost in my thoughts, when a sudden vibration felt along my outer thigh. I pulled out the phone from my pocket, and in the process, looked up at Cullen who was a few feet away from me. How had he even managed to get away from Lauren?

_He really is handsome…_

Remembering that someone had called me, I flipped my cell phone over, and slightly frowned as the name, 'Jake' appeared on the screen. I rarely ever picked up my phone during work, unless it was work related, but Jake knew that perfectly well.

My frown deepened, and without thinking, I lifted a finger to silence Cullen– – who opened his mouth to say something– – before he could come within a three foot proximity to me. Turning my attention back to my cell, I pressed 'talk', and placed the phone on my ear.

"Jake?" I asked, concern in my voice. Jake knew that I didn't like being interrupted by personal calls when I was at work. He knew, yet he had called anyways. My head was becoming overwhelmed with the assumption that he might have been hurt. Or something might have happened to him.

Jake remained quiet, and I grew all the more panicked. Cullen was standing right before me, but I didn't dare to look at his face. I didn't know what expression he would carry, or what expression I expected him to have, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good one, so I kept my eyes downcast and strained to listen to any sound coming from the other line.

"Jake?" I repeated, even more urgent.

"Bells?" His voice asked, surprised. I frowned at his tone. Why was he shocked? Wasn't it he who just called me?

Another second of silence passed, and Jake finally spoke, "I'm sorry Bells. I think I inputted your number, though I wasn't intending to," another moment of silence, and then, "but it's probably because I was thinking about you so intently, so…"

I couldn't help but chuckle. Jacob was really too sweet and adorable. Only he could pull of saying something so heartwarmingly cheesy, and get away with it without looking like a loser or desperate pervert.

"Well, since you picked up, do you want to have dinner later on?"

I rolled my eyes. Why would he even ask?

"Sure, Jake. When and where?"

"Mm…" He mused, "I'm not sure. I'll meet you at your apartment after the audition, and we'll decide from there."

"Alright. See you tonight, then?"

Jake agreed, and we hung up without saying anything else. He must have been surrounded by people, well, _important _people, for him not to conclude the call with some more cheesy and romantic comments. Jake usually ended a phone call with something along the lines of, "Can't wait to see you" or "I'll miss you".

I smiled again. Why did I have a feeling that he had every intention of calling me for dinner?

Snapping the phone shut, the smile on my face faltered when I looked up to see a fuming and highly annoyed Cullen staring back at me, with narrowed eyes.

Despite the fact that I was confused as to why he had such an expression, all I could think was "_If looks could kill…"._

"Cull– – " I began, but my words were stopped short when Cullen's hand fell over my mouth, and stepped closer to me, pulling our faces so close together that we were nearly inches apart.

"Bella, go on a date with me."

And the only thing I heard after that was the sound of my phone slipping through my fingers and landing to the floor with a sharp _thud._

That, and the sound of my pounding heart.


	12. THE ANSWER!

Bella

I stood there silent partly because Cullen's hand was clapped over my mouth and partly because my words were completely lost. Cullen slowly lifted his had from my mouth and waited for my reply.

I have no idea what to say…I love Jacob, I think? Wait no I know that I love Jake! It's a fact. But Alice has that feeling and she is never wrong about anything. Or at least she wasn't when I was friends with her.

I hate making decisions. Especially huge ones like this. I always make the wrong one and when I finally make up my mind I wish I had picked the other option. When I was a little girl I had my parents and friends pick a choice for me. Well now my parents aren't here to help me out so I have to do this on my own.

I shifted through my mind about him…

From when I first met him I thought he looked sexi but the way he acted when I first met him was horrible! I remember I wanted to take his ipod and…

Calm down Bella…he just asked you out!!! Think of the good things about him…

Well he is Hot sexy and hot and hot and funny! His voice is velvety and soft

Time suddenly unfroze and I was back on planet Earth with Edward standing really close to me. I just noticed that he had one of his hands on my check and the other at his side.

"Bella? BELLA!!!! Are you okay?" Edward sounded very concerned. His voice had plenty of worry in it.

"Ummm yeah I'm fine. I just spaced out." There were a few pauses in my statement.

"Sooooo?" I knew Cullen wanted and answer from me. I said to him what my heart was screaming to me to say!

"Well, Edward…"

**Edward's pov**

During my photo shoot Lauren came over to take photos with me. Ever time she got close to me Bella would cringe in her seat and her face dropped a little more each time. I took this as a good sign and today was the day I was going to go up to Bella and ask her out!

After the photographer said it's a wrap I made my way closer to Bella. When I was only three step away she held out her pointer finger as a sign to hold on for a second. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying. All I could here was that she was making dinner plans so I was assuming it was Jacob calling her for dinner.

When she snapped her phone shut I walked right up to her face to face only inches apart and whispered loudly "Bella, go on a date with me."

There was a long pause. The pause turned into silence and Bella closed her eyes. It took about 5 minutes until I decided to see it she was ok.

Bella then said "Well, Edward… all I can promise you right now is that you will know my answer in a few days." I had no idea what she was going to say, but I am happy that this is not a no but things can change. I just have to get her to forget about her sort of but not completely boyfriend then this might have a good outcome.


End file.
